Football Welcomes Return Of Fans News
Football clubs and leagues welcome the UK Government’s announcement that all restrictions in England are due to be eased from 19th July.
UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced on Monday (5 July) that restrictions on attendances at sports events were likely to be lifted from 19th July, paving the way for a full return of fans to the country’s football stadia in the summer.
Following the announcement by Johnson, the Premier League made the following statement: “Fans have been hugely missed so we welcome today’s announcement by the Government and are looking forward to full stadiums in the 2021/22 season.
“As we move towards a Government decision on Step 4 of the roadmap and beyond, we will continue to work with football stakeholders and relevant public authorities to ensure that the return to full capacity is done in a way that keeps everyone safe.”
Manchester United were equally pleased, stating: “This is positive news for the club and our fans as we prepare to welcome them back for next season.
“We will now work through the detail of this announcement and any subsequent guidance from the football authorities to amend our plans, stadium regulations and supporter guidance ahead of our pre-season friendlies and the Premier League season.
“As part of that, our policies in relation to face masks, social distancing, capacities and ticketing will be reviewed and communicated to our fans to make attending our games as safe as possible, in line with the national guidance.”
EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, also welcomed the news after what has been an incredibly difficult year and a half for the league’s 72 clubs.
“The EFL welcomes today’s (Monday) positive announcement by the Prime Minister that capacity restrictions are expected to be lifted later this month, which will allow us to finally press forward with our plans to see a full return of fans to EFL stadiums from the start of the new EFL season in just four weeks’ time.
“Football has been planning for this outcome since the outset of the pandemic and having been forced to endure empty stadiums since March 2020, the message from EFL clubs is that we are ready to re-open and welcome fans back in numbers.
“From the EFL’s own participation in the Events Research Programme and our club’s extensive experience built up over many years, we are confident that all our clubs can successfully manage large scale events and we will continue to work with the Government on the guidance that will help support their matchday operations.”
Image: Richard Boyle, Unsplash
