Five-a-side from next month? Culture Secretary signals amateur sport could return within weeks with gyms and leisure centres also reopening

Daily Mail | June 17, 2020

Five-a-side football fans could return to the pitch as early as next month, with gyms and leisure centres also set to reopen, the Culture Secretary has signalled.

Oliver Dowden said he understood the public are 'itching' to resume their amateur sport and fitness routines, as Premier League football returned this evening for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak.

'Sports recovery is never just about elite sports,' he told the daily Downing Street briefing.

Oliver Dowden, pictured at tonight's Downing Street briefing, said he understood the public are 'itching' to resume their amateur sport and fitness routines

Five-a-side football fans could return to the pitch as early as next month, the Culture Secretary has signalled

Gyms have been closed since the lockdown was first enforced back in March, but bosses have been making changes behind the scenes to ensure members can still work out while maintaining social distancing

'I know people are itching to get back to their gyms, their leisure centres, their five aside leagues…and all the normal fitness activities.