Premier League pledge to INCREASE fan attendance to ‘substantial levels’ as they welcome announcement that supporters can return for first time in nine months from December 2
- Sports stadiums in some areas of England will re-open from December 2
- Outdoor venues in tier one areas will be allowed to admit up to 4,000 fans
- Premier League have welcomed announcement and made statement on news
- Ambition is to work closely with government to have ‘substantial’ numbers back
The Premier League have welcomed news that some fans will be allowed to return to matches but warned more must be done.
Clubs are taking a massive financial hit playing behind closed doors and the top flight bosses have outlined their commitment to achieving ‘substantial’ increases in attendances.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that the country will return to the tier system of coronavirus restrictions early next month and stadiums will re-open from December 2.
Fans will be allowed back into stadiums in news welcomed by the Premier League
Up to 4000 fans will be able to attend matches in areas of the country under tier one
Outdoor venues in tier one locations will have 4000 fans permitted and tier two are allowed 2000 while tier three are going to have to remain closed.
The Premier League released an official statement in reaction to the latest announcement.
It read: ‘Fans have been greatly missed at Premier League matches and therefore we welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement today regarding the return of supporters for the first time since March, albeit at small numbers.
‘Our ambition remains to work with Government to increase attendance to more substantial levels. Until this can be done, many fans will be unable to attend games and our clubs will continue to operate matches at a financial loss.
‘Our priority continues to be the agreement of a roadmap, with DCMS and the Sports Technology and Innovation Group, for pilot events that can help our clubs quickly scale up to larger capacities in line with the Sports Ground Safety Authority’s COVID-secure guidelines and beyond.
‘Premier League clubs have a proven track record of achieving high-biosecurity standards and we believe we can play a significant role in the Government’s rapid turnaround testing initiative.
‘We look forward to working with Government on their next steps.’
It has felt an age for supporters denied the chance to watch their teams play live
The infection rates in parts of Britain remain stubbornly high and we will not find out which tier different areas will be in until Thursday November 26.
Only then will we find out which sports events will be open to supporters.
Nine test events were held in the EFL in the summer and one in the Premier League, a preseason friendly between Brighton and Chelsea, which was staged at the Amex Stadium in front of 2,500 supporters. Lessons learned from these games will be put to good use next month.
The EFL are also considering bumping their midweek games from December 1 to December 2 in order to let fans into games as soon as possible and the Premier League are also clearly concerned with ramping up the numbers as quickly as possible.
A specific code of conduct for those in attendance remains to be seen and there are questions over alcohol consumption, cheering, singing and a number of matchday behaviours yet to be ironed out.
There have been concerns over the integrity of the competition if some teams can have home advantage with fans in the stadium when others cannot.
But it seems the Premier League are eager to push on and work with the government to make the transition as smooth as possible.
