Coronavirus: Sport to stop as national lockdown looms

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new four-week lockdown from this Thursday until December 2 to combat rising Covid-19 numbers, with all pubs, bars, restaurants, non-essential retail, gyms and leisure centres to close for the duration.

Elite sport, such as the Premier League, can continue behind closed doors but grassroots and amateur sport is set to be outlawed, although this has not yet been confirmed.

Under the new restrictions indoor and outdoor leisure facilities will all be forced to close. This includes bowling alleys, leisure centres and gyms, sports facilities including swimming pools, golf courses and driving ranges, dance studios, stables and riding centres, climbing walls and climbing centres, archery and shooting ranges.

People will be allowed to exercise outdoors alone, with their household or with one other person.

All local football matches scheduled for between Thursday and December 2 are expected to be postponed and rearranged for a later date, which is set to put further pressure on an already congested fixture schedule given the later-than-usual start to the football season in September.

A brief statement from the South West Peninsula League on Saturday night read: "We await advice from the FA and DCMS regarding sport, it is expected that games from November 5 through to December 2 will be postponed, BUT we will hold 'on ice' until clarification comes through.

"How this affects cups etc, will have to be decided as well."

Similar issues are expected for hockey, with the domestic season only having just got underway a week ago.

Four rounds of the West Clubs Women's Hockey League were due to have been played in the lockdown period.

It follows Friday's announcement from the RFU that adult competitive leagues for the 2020/21 rugby season have been cancelled, although the Gallagher Premiership and RFU Championship - which features the Cornish Pirates - will still go ahead.