Sport set to return from the end of March

Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis and basketball courts are expected reopen from the end of March - and organised adult and children's sport, such as grassroots football, will also return.

The news will delight the many who have prevented from playing sport since Christmas.

It is dependent on the continued decline in coronavirus cases and the successful ongoing rollout of vaccines.

There is no news yet about when fans will be allowed to return to grounds - which is crucial for football at non-league level, where clubs have said they simply can't afford to play and pay their players and staff without gate income.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson may reveal more detail about the return of sport and fans when he speaks on Monday afternoon.

In the meantime sport clubs and players everywhere will be starting to make plans for March 29 - and hoping normality is finally on the way back.

On the non-league front, the bosses of the Northern Premier League, Isthmian League and Southern League will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to null and void their seasons or find some way of salvaging them.

Their decision will then have to go to the FA Council to be ratified.