The government in the United Kingdom has put the tiers system in England into motion as the categorization of stadiums into tier one, two, and three have been announced on Thursday.
Clubs in Merseyside like Liverpool football club and Everton can host a maximum of 2000 spectators because Merseyside fell under tier two which means that the city is marked as a high-risk area for coronavirus.
Also, clubs in London, including Arsenal football club, Chelsea, West Ham, Tottenham, and others in the capital city can host a maximum of 2000 fans at their stadiums because they fall under tier two of the tiers system in England.
The system will come into full force after December 2 when the government of the UK lifts the coronavirus restriction already in place in the country. The restriction will be replaced by the tiers system.
According to the government announcement, 99 percent of the population in England fall under tier two and three which is a partial lockdown. While one percent fall under tier one which is restriction-free.
No stadium used by a Premier League club in the league fall under tier one which means that no club will be able to host up to 4000 spectators which are permitted in tier one. About 10 Premier League clubs fall under tier two which means that those clubs can host 2000 fans from December 3.
Fortunately, Arsenal will be the first club in the league to host fans after over 8 months of playing football behind closed doors. The London based club will play a Europa League match against Rapid Vienna on Thursday, December 3 at the Emirates Stadium, a day after the lifting of the lockdown.
The club has already announced that tickets will be available for sale on a first-come, first-serve basis for only registered fans who applied for the ballot in September.
On the other hand, clubs in Manchester including Manchester United and Manchester City will not be permitted to host fans at their stadiums because their stadiums fall under tier three. Manchester United had to issue a press release to register their displeasure with the whole arrangement.
The statement read: “Manchester United notes the Government decision to keep Trafford in the Tier 3 category of Covid-19 restrictions. This means games at Old Trafford will continue to take place behind closed doors until further notice.
“Our plans for safely welcoming back fans to Old Trafford are well advanced and we look forward to doing so as soon as we are given the go-ahead. We will continue to work with local authorities on finalizing our plans so that we can move quickly when our area comes out of Tier 3.
“Some of our forthcoming away games in Tier 2 areas may take place with a limited number of fans in attendance. However, under current guidelines, away fans will not be permitted to attend.
“We thank our fans for their continued patience and will keep them informed of further developments.”
Below are Premier League and EFL Clubs and the tier they fall under in the tiers system in England
Tier 1
No Premier League or EFL clubs
Tier 2
Premier League
Arsenal
Brighton
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Liverpool
Southampton
Tottenham
West Ham
Championship
Bournemouth
Brentford
Luton
Millwall
Norwich City
QPR
Reading
Watford
Wycombe
League One
Charlton Athletic
Crewe Alexandra
Ipswich
MK Dons
Northampton
Oxford United
Peterborough United
Plymouth Argyle
Portsmouth
Shrewsbury
Swindon
Wimbledon
League Two
Barrow
Cambridge
Carlisle
Cheltenham
Colchester
Crawley
Exeter
Forest Green Rovers
Harrogate
Leyton Orient
Southend
Stevenage
Tranmere
Tier 3
Premier League
Aston Villa
Burnley
Leicester City
Leeds United
Manchester United
Manchester City
Newcastle United
Sheffield United
West Brom
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Championship
Barnsley
Birmingham City
Blackburn
Bristol City
Coventry City
Derby County
Huddersfield
Middlesbrough
Nottingham Forest
Preston
Rotherham
Sheffield Wednesday
Stoke City
League One
Accrington Stanley
Blackpool
Bristol Rovers
Burton Albion
Doncaster Rovers
Fleetwood Town
Gillingham
Hull City
Lincoln City
Sunderland
Rochdale
Wigan Athletic
League Two
Bolton
Bradford
Grimsby
Mansfield
Morecambe
Oldham
Port Vale
Salford
Scunthorpe
Walsall
