They’re Back! Fans make return to stadiums across the country

How we have all missed the vibrant atmosphere of football fans turning up at stadiums to watch their team put on a show. After six months of playing behind closed doors, the ‘beautiful game’ is slowly but surely getting back to the norm.

Although we have had an exciting finish to the 2019-20 season and an extraordinary start to the 2020-21 season, it has not been the same without the roars and screams from thousands of spectators in the stands. We may not have full stadiums at the present moment, but due to the pandemic, elite sport has been missing its key motto, which is the fans appearing in their stadiums and/or venues.

There is no doubt that players want to perform to their best of their ability week in and week out, and therefore having spectators cheering and shouting out their names gives them that extra boost of motivation, which may have been lost during the past nine months or so.

Let’s not forget the work that the government and especially the NHS has done to make this possible becuase at one stage, this may have been the end of sport for quite some time, probably for a couple of years at least.

The return of the fans is also a boost to the clubs in terms of their reputation, they want to earn money and make success and a part of how they do it is allowing their fans the opportunity of coming to see the team play.

This is particularly important for the lower tier clubs i.e League One and League Two as they want to achieve more success by winning matches to get promoted to the next tier of English football.  If there are no fans attending the games, the smaller clubs will eventually start to run out of business and shut down.

However, let’s not forget that there are also some tighter restrictions being put in place, particularly in the north of England, these are Tier 3 restrictions.  So, up to 2,000 spectators are allowed at stadiums which are in Tier 2, but no spectators are allowed in venues under Tier 3. This is the safest possible way in which the government is allowing the fans to come back and see their stars in action in safe and secure environment.

Although we are on the verge of getting a vaccine to help up defeat the virus, having the fans back is a huge boost for most clubs around the country. Yes, there are certain areas in which have strict lockdown measures, but the ‘beautiful game’ is slowly returning to its prime.

There’s a saying that ‘football is never the same without the fans’, and that’s the reality.

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