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Will the Six Nations Tournament be played behind closed doors?

2022-01-04T21:55:32.622Z


One month before the launch of the Tournament, on February 5, the organizers do not rule out having to play the matches in front of small gauges, or even behind closed doors.


The situation gives little cause for optimism.

In Wales, matches are once again being played behind closed doors.

In Scotland, the gauge has been set at a maximum of 500 spectators.

In Ireland as in France, it is 5,000 (until January 23 for France).

In Italy, the gauge will drop to 50% of stadium capacity this Friday, January 6.

It is only England which has not yet taken measures, sport escaping (for the moment?) The sanitary wrath.

One month before the launch of the Six Nations Tournament, the fear of a contested competition in almost (or totally) empty stadiums is therefore keen.

In any case, she agitates the organizers according to information relayed by The Telegraph.

According to the British daily, they would regularly ask the Federations and the governments to know if these restrictions will be applied again in a month.

And more, the Tournament concluding on March 19th.

The gauge will soon be revised upwards in France?

If it is difficult to project, a few timid signals maintain little hope.

The epidemic could have reached its peak in the coming days to decrease from the beginning of February.

Thus, on the French side, the LREM deputy Sacha Houlié suggested that the current gauges were "

temporary

" and that they could be revised upwards "

within a fortnight

".

In addition, the probable introduction of the vaccination pass in mid-January could allow spectators with this sesame to return to sports grounds.

Read alsoPublic authorized in stadiums: the gauge remains fixed but ...

On the side of the FFR, we want to believe it. If the match against Italy has not (yet?) Been full at the Stade de France, the shocks against Ireland and England are already sold out. If these matches were to drop from 80,000 to 5,000 spectators, the losses would amount to around 5 million euros. "

The consequences could be dramatic for the French Federation

," says Philippe Spanghero to Le Figaro.

The deal signed at the start of the year with the CVC investment fund brought in a lot of cash

(the FFR will receive around € 15 million per year for five years for the concession of television and commercial rights, Editor's note).

But this money was intended to revive the dynamics of amateur rugby, the number of licensees, and to replenish the equity hard hit by the health crisis.

If the matches were to be played in front of 5,000 spectators, the FFR would find itself without any financial margin…

The solution of postponing the Tournament ruled out

Also according to The Telegraph, the track of a postponement later in the season of the Six Nations Tournament has been ruled out.

In a jam-packed schedule, it's impossible to find five fallback weekends.

A hypothesis which would not fail to provoke an outcry on the side of the French and English professional leagues.

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2022-01-04

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