Since fans can now enter the stadium, 10,000 Borussia Dortmund fans will be allowed into Signa Iduna Park for the Bundesliga season opener against Borussia Monchengladbach.
This is following an agreement between Bundesliga clubs, who have reportedly been given the green light for fans to return to stadiums for the start of the 2020-21 season in Germany amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Bundesliga was one of the leagues that restarted league early in May after the coronavirus lockdown. The new season will be starting with the overall opener that will see the defending champions, Bayern Munich hosts Schalke 04 on Friday September 18.
According to the COVID-protocol, up to 20 percent of stadium capacity can be used, while strict hygiene requirements will be imposed, and alcohol banned.
“Numerous employees have meticulously prepared for every possible situation for weeks, so that Borussia Dortmund is able to open the stadium gates for spectators at short notice and at the same time comply with all health protection requirements.
“For the first home game, however, a stipulation of the health department of the city of Dortmund is that only fans who have their primary residence in Dortmund or North Rhine-Westphalia are allowed in order to ensure the best possible follow-up in the event of an infection. Therefore a “hard personalization” of the user data is specified. It includes name, address, mobile phone number, email address.
This group of season ticket holders was informed on Wednesday morning about how they can get tickets. Basically: Holders of a season ticket can apply for a day ticket, holders of two or more season tickets for a maximum of two day tickets.
“If the number of applications exceeds the number of tickets available, these will be raffled. Tickets are awarded according to fair criteria. If you get nothing at the first request, you have increasing chances at the following home games. Because: Inquiries from fans who have already received tickets can only be considered again when all other season ticket holders who want to attend the home games have also received tickets. The aim is for each season ticket holder to be able to attend the same number of games during the season.”
However, away fans will not be allowed to attend for now. This is because a game would be forced back behind closed doors if the infection rate in the home city is too high over a seven-day period.
Borussia Dortmund to welcome crowds for home Bundesliga games
In relation to the development, Dortmund made an announcement on Tuesday that a small crowd will be in attendance for Saturday’s showdown against Gladbach at Signal Iduna Park.
However, only Dortmund or North Rhine-Westphalia residents will be granted access.
“The Bundesliga teams, but also the clubs and associations of other sports, can be very happy today, and we definitely have this feeling at BVB,”
“I would like to thank everyone in politics who contributed to today’s decision in the past few weeks. At the same time, I feel a great obligation that we as clubs, together with the fans involved, will handle this probationary period extremely responsibly in the coming weeks. The now-approved partial re-admission of viewers is, in any case, a very important step for all football fans in Germany,” Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said in a statement.
Dortmund finish runners up to rivals Bayern Munich last season, while Gladbach secured a top-four spot as they qualified for the Champions League as well.
