How Different Will Matchday be When Fans Return To Stadiums?

Football fans are finally allowed back into the stadium to watch a match of football but the experience will be completely different to what it was before COVID-19. We take a look at what the new match day experience will be like.

Following months of watching elite sporting events on the television the government announced that sporting events can start having fans returning.

On Tuesday the government announced that up to 4,000 fans can attend matches from next week in tier one restricted areas in England.

While tier two restricted areas having a maximum of 2,000 spectators attend sporting events.

Fans in tier three restricted areas will not be allowed to return to stadiums just yet meaning matches in the ‘high risk tier’ will be continued to be played behind closed doors.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the post lockdown measures on Monday, focussing most of the announcement on sporting events.

Johnson announced in his press conference at the House of Commons on Monday:

“In tiers one and two, spectator sports and business events will be free to resume inside and outside with capacity limits and social distancing,”

This announcement is certainly one that sports fans where waiting for as it’s been a long time coming.

Fans of the Non-League game have been able to attend matches this season from step and below. Now with spectators returning to elite matches, many Non-League clubs are worried that the fans that they picked up at the start of the season will return to watching their professional club.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said in the same press conference:

“This is a big step forward for sport.

“I’m also delighted we are able to get the turnstiles turning sooner than expected, taking a cautious approach and starting with the lowest-risk areas first.”

Sport is something that brings the nation together and bringing fans back together to sit in the stadium doing something everyone loves at the same time will help bring normality back into everyone’s lives.

What Changes Do We Expect To See When Fans Return To Games?

Wearing face masks and being social distancing.

Might be an obvious inclusion to what we might expect when fans return to matches from next week.

Wearing a face mask and socially distancing from each other is one way of keeping everyone safe when the fans are back into the stadium.

With out this fans would have to wait even longer to get back into the stadium.

One way systems.

Another obvious inclusion to the list. Grounds will need to observe a one way system so then fans can move around the ground with no problems.

The one way system may only work in the concourse, outside the ground and inside the club shop.

When it comes to sitting down a one way system may work as fans can go up one so ice of the stand and down the other. But at the moment that is unknown on how it’s going to work.

No singing, chanting or shouting.

Places of worship are not allowed to use singing when they are congregated together so we expect the same thing to be in place for when sports fans return to the stadium.

Chanting, singing and shouting is one of best bits about attending a football match as you want to get behind the team you support to cheer them on.

Under the current rules sports fans won’t be able to do it. As they could spread anything around as your still in close proximity to other sports loving supporters who won’t want games to be held behind closed doors again.

Ban on Alcoholic beverages and food.

With pubs and restaurants about to reopen when lockdown is over there have been questions asked if fans will be able to buy food and drink at the matches.

At the moment the answer to that is unclear but if stadiums won’t re open food and drink kiosks there are places near the ground that sell food and drink.

The sale of match day programs.

Match day programs are a collectors item for many on match day. So we could see them continue to be sold at the ground on match day.

It would be up to the club wether they open the kiosk as many of them take cash only. One way around this is to pre order a programme online to get it delivered to your house or to buy it from the club shop.

Paperless tickets or print at home.

Many clubs all ready offer this service for match day tickets. Paperless or print at home tickets will stop people going to the ticket office buy their match day tickets.

Doing print at home and paperless tickets will stop the interaction of spreading the virus around. Also the print at home option is one of the safest ways of printing tickets as you know you’ve already got it.

What will socially distancing fans look like.

We believe it will look something like this where there’s a gap between you and the next supporter in the stand.

It’s worked at Non-League so far this season and we expect it to work in all seater stadiums in the same way.

It won’t be the same…. will it.

You have nothing to worry about the football you will watch will be exactly the same as it was before the Coronavirus pandemic hit but match day will be a little different.

Your still be at the football but you won’t be able to do the chanting or singing which is going to be the biggest change to your viewing of the game.

The biggest change is that if your watching on the television rather than seeing a empty stadium your be watching a match with fans there.

Will fans coming back ruin the current Television schedule.

At the moment nothing is set regarding the television schedule. With fans now allowed back into the grounds we expect the schedule to go back to normal at some point but while a percentage of fans can attend we recon the television schedule will remain the same for the time being.

With all this in mind the match day experience will be exactly as it was pre COVID-19 but with a few changes.

Let us know what match and ground you will be going to once the lockdown restrictions are over in the comments.

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