Amateur sport to receive relief funding

Canada’s amateur sport system will receive $72 million in coronavirus relief funding from the federal government, the country’s Heritage Minister said on Friday.

The funding was announced after a number of the country’s national sports organizations, who each manage teams and high-performance programs, were forced to cancel events because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee said they were sincerely grateful for the investment into the country’s sport sector.

The emergency support for amateur sports announced by Canadian Federal Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault was part of a broader $500 million commitment that also includes arts and culture in the country.

NHL CANCELS GAMES IN EUROPE

The National Hockey League on Friday scrapped plans to play regular-season games in the Czech

Republic and Finland this year because of the COVID -19 pandemic, which has already put the current campaign in jeopardy.

The NHL Global Series was supposed to see Boston and Nashville open their 2020-21 season in October in Prague and Colorado and Columbus play two regular-season games in Finland later in the year.

“We hope that our fans overseas understand the need to postpone the 2020 games, but we look forward to being back with them in 2021,” the NHL and union representing its players said in a joint statement.

EMPTY STADIUMS CHANGE GAME, SOCCER STAR SAYS

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov fears the performance of some players could suffer in the absence of spectators and a normal atmosphere at stadiums.

A number of soccer leagues around the globe will resume after the COVID-19 stoppage in the coming weeks, but the matches will be played without fans.

“Playing behind closed doors isn’t going to be the same,” Berbatov, 39, told Betfair. “We all know that sometimes fans can win a game.”