Australian sports minister Richard Colbeck has reiterated the high risk and threat of travelling supporters to Australia should the T20 World Cup go ahead as scheduled.
The seventh edition of the event is set to get under way on 18 October, but the current effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have massively questioned how sporting events will play out in the foreseeable future.
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According to Colbeck, the high number of supporters expected to travel to Australia from all over the world could lead to a significant health risk.
Speaking to SEN Radio, the minister said it will be a complex task to accommodate fans from different parts of the globe.
‘The issue is not so much the teams as the crowds, and that’s probably one of the hurdles we really have to consider and probably one that world cricket will look at pretty closely as well.
‘We all know the difference in atmosphere when you see a filled stadium versus one that’s empty. They will be some of the broader considerations, but in a team sense, I’d like to think that we can build some protocols with the cooperation of the sport and the players. That’s going to be extremely important, with appropriate quarantine and bio-security protocols to see if we can make the competition go ahead,’ Colbeck said.
Australia have began easing restrictions on economic activity in recent weeks but the lifting of travel restrictions could jeopardise the progress made.
‘Our capacity to be able to open up sport to crowds and all those sorts of things is going to be really dependent on our capacity to track and trace, then quarantine community spread.’
