Yahoo Movies Football clubs face race to be ready for fans return as leaders warn: ‘It’s just the first step to recovery’
Fans attend the Brighton vs Chelsea pre-season friendly at Amex Stadium in August
(AFP via Getty Images)Football on Tuesday welcomed the imminent return of supporters from next week but leaders insisted it was only the first step towards the game’s recovery.
Eight months after fans were last permitted in grounds for competitive games, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday announced that they could return from December 2 in areas with low coronavirus rates.
Clubs in Tier 1 areas, with the lowest risk, will be allowed up to 4,000 fans, with up to 2,000 for those in Tier 2, but no fans allowed in Tier 3 areas. If the capital is in Tier 2, then 2,000 fans could attend Arsenal’s Europa League tie against Rapid Vienna on December 3 and the north London derby at Tottenham, scheduled for December 6.
The Premier League welcomed the Government’s announcement but warned clubs would continue to make losses until attendances were allowed to increase to “more substantial levels”. The ‘Big Six’, in particular, believe the new measures are not cost-effective, and the League have said they will continue to work with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Government’s Sports Technology and Innovation Group (STIG) to help clubs “scale up to larger capacities”.
STIG is exploring measures to increase numbers, include digital health passports, which would allow fans to prove they have had a negative test via an App, and rapid turnaround testing outside grounds.
Spurs and Arsenal are among the clubs pushing to be given permission to test new technologies at pilot events soon and are nervously awaiting the Government’s announcement of the tiers on Thursday. The Premier League have written to clubs advising that supporters may not be allowed to consume alcohol at grounds when they return, while the Sports Ground Safety Authority has set out a code of conduct for supporters, including: “Take extreme care when shouting, singing or celebrating.”
Clubs will also be encouraged to recommend supporters walk or cycle to stadiums to avoid travel congestion, with staggered arrivals, health questionnaires, face-coverings, temperature checks on the turnstiles, cashless operations, handsfree ticketing and photo IDs all expected to be part of the new match-day experience.
EFL chairman Rick Parry: “All being well, this is just the start”
PAEFL chairman Rick Parry said the development could be “very significant” for League One and Two clubs but admitted it would have minimal impact on the Championship and Premier League.
“As we move beyond Christmas, [we need] more pilots, a lot of hard work ahead,” Parry told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “All being well, this is just the start.”
Parry also confirmed the EFL are exploring moving fixtures on December 1 to the following day to allow cash-strapped clubs to start generating revenue as soon as possible. He admitted the news had taken his clubs by “surprise” and across the Premier League, too, there was widespread frustration at being given no warning by the Government, having initially expected fans to return over the Christmas period.
Millwall chief executive Steve Kavanagh told Standard Sport: “The message is we’re ready but by God it’s complex and there’s a lot of issues still to work through.”
Millwall chief executive Steve Kavanagh said there were still many issues to work through before fans return
Getty ImagesKavanagh said the initial measures would not make Millwall, who estimate a £9million loss of revenue due to the pandemic, financially viable but added: “The lights are being turned back on. It’s a move in the right direction, we all welcome it, because not having crowds has been desperate for football.”
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) insisted fans could be trusted to follow the rules.
Malcolm Clarke, the FSA chairman, told The Mail: “I am confident fans will do what is asked of them. We are also pleased we seem to have got rid of the discrimination against football which meant you could watch a game inside a cinema but not in the stands.”
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