Premier League fans may not return to stadiums on October 1 as earlier planned due to the rise in coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom. Also, stadiums located in areas where there are a high number of coronavirus cases would not be able to host spectators.
It was earlier planned that at least 1,000 Premier League fans would be allowed into the stadiums from October 1 but that plan might not hold if confirmed cases of the virus continue to rise.
As of the last check, the United Kingdom has a total of 365,174 confirmed coronavirus cases. 41,423 of those confirmed cases had died due to coronavirus related complications.
Within England alone, there are 279,000 confirmed cases with a total of 36,765 deaths. While in the capital city, London, there are 39,419 confirmed cases with 6,885 coronavirus related deaths. Beyond England, Scotland has recorded 22,214 confirmed cases, Wales
18,829 confirmed cases, Northern Ireland has 8,227 confirmed cases.
With all these rising numbers of cases, it will be almost impossible for Premier League fans to be allowed into stadiums to enjoy Premier League games. Though the Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson had said the number of venue pilots might be reduced to 1,000 people, the league body has been urging the government to allow fans into stadiums.
However, the latest reports say the UK government would have no choice but to halt the plan to return football fans to stadiums due to the rising cases of the virus. On the other hand, the Prime Minister of the country has insisted that even if their proposed venue pilots program does not work now, the program would not be totally scrapped.
He also stressed that the government’s plan to start having Premier League fans at match venue later this month might still go on amid the coronavirus pandemic but that would be subjected to medical reports or approval.
December is surer for Premier League fans
A game that could change everything in the 2020-2021 Premier League season could be Manchester United’s opener against Crystal Palace on September 19. The UK government had planned that the match would be used to try allowing spectators into match venues.
According to the plans, the match supposes to give room to 12, 000 Premier League fans but that number has to be scale down to 1,000 people based on the PM pronouncement. The plan could also be canceled outrightly if the health situation of the city of Manchester does not permit that.
Hence, the surest time Premier League fans can have the opportunity to watch their favorite teams live in stadiums is in December. Culture Secretary of the UK Oliver Dowden tweeted days ago that the plans to have fans in stadiums could be pushed back to around Christmas.
“We are keeping under review further easements proposed from 1 Oct but no changes have been announced today – and we continue to plan for the best”, Dowden tweeted.
“As I said on Sunday and the PM confirmed today, work continues round the clock on the moonshot project with the ambition of having audiences back much closer to normal by Christmas.”
We are keeping under review further easements proposed from 1 Oct but no changes have been announced today – and we continue to plan for the best.
— Oliver Dowden (@OliverDowden) September 9, 2020
