Crowds of upto 4,000 to be allowed inside stadiums as England ease coronavirus restrictions
A statement released by the UK government revealed that up to 4,000 fans will be allowed to attend Premier League games in the low risk areas from December as a part of the new restrictions. Football in England has been played behind closed doors since June in order to help curb the coronavirus.
With football going into a lockdown in March, fans haven’t been allowed back into stadiums in England since with football in the country played behind closed doors. That includes the Premier League and the English football league with the grassroots game played with a bare minimum number of people. However, that is set to change from December 2nd as the UK government has announced that crowds of upto 4000 people will be allowed to return to sporting events.
Not only that, after the second lockdown, that was put in place from early November, grassroots sport will also resume as the country opens back up again. However, ESPN and the Guardian have reported that it will be in a tiered system with 4000 or 50% capacity, depending on which number is smaller, set to be allowed in Tier 1.
That number reduces to 2000 in Tier 2 areas while Tier 3 areas, however, won’t be allowed to host any spectators. The news was confirmed by UK prime minister Boris Johnson who also confirmed that national restrictions “will end on December 2nd” with people allowed to leave their homes.
"I can confirm the national restrictions will end on Dec. 2... People can leave their home, subject to the rule of six. Wedding services, outdoor sports can resume. Leisure can resume. Sports will be able to resume inside in tier one and two with measures on social distancing. Enforcement will be strengthened with new powers to close down premises that pose a risk to public health," Johnson said in a statement to the House of Commons.