Sport in Wales is going back behind closed doors after an announcement on new Covid regulations by the Welsh Government.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has confirmed that indoor and outdoor sporting events will not be allowed crowds after a steep rise in Covid cases linked to the Omicron variant.

A £3 million Spectator Sports Fund will be available to support clubs and venues affected, with more details to come after discussions with the sector.

Mr Gething said: “Sporting events over the Christmas period are one of the big highlights of the year. Unfortunately, the new omicron variant is a significant development in the pandemic and could cause a large number of infections.

“We need to do everything we can to protect people’s health and control the spread of this awful virus.

“Throughout the pandemic we have followed scientific and public health advice to keep people safe. The advice is clear – we need to act now in response to the threat of omicron. We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can.

“Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports.”

The decision comes as some football clubs have already announced Christmas matches have been postponed because of cases of Covid-19 in their squads.

Newtown are due to play a Christmas double header against Cardiff Met, with Latham Park hosting the Boxing Day fixture and the return coming on December 30, followed by a break until January 22.

TNS have fixtures against Cefn Druids, first at home on Boxing Day, then away on New Years Day. It has not yet been confirmed whether fixtures at TNS' ground lie within the UK or Welsh Government's jurisdiction on this issue.

Newtown only welcomed spectators back in June after a lengthy spell without fans in the ground.

The Welsh Government has not announced the levels to which the fan ban stands.

The overall rate of coronavirus infections is also rising in Wales and now stands at just under 550 cases per 100,000 people.