The Premier League might have fans in the stands by October
By Emily Adams
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to get fans back in soccer stadiums as soon as possible.
By now, Americans are used to watching sports surrounded by seas of empty seats and artificial crowd noise, but that might not be the reality for Premier League fans this fall. As reported by ESPN, the United Kingdom is targeting October — only a couple of weeks into the soccer season — for the return of fans to the stands.
According to Johnson, there could actually be fans at sporting events in the UK as early as August at a limited capacity. This would serve as a sort of test run, and if all goes well, things could open up to nearly normal levels by mid-autumn. That means the Premier League, which kicks off on Sept. 12, could potentially play an entire season with at least a few fans present.
BREAKING: The Premier League could have fans in stadiums from as early as October! https://t.co/lfnVpXG1gv
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 17, 2020
It’s hard not to be incredibly jealous of the fans across the pond who could get that in-person experience that American fans know we won’t be having any time soon. The UK is averaging somewhere in the realm of 500 to 700 new coronavirus cases a day. The U.S., on the other hand, had more than 75,000 new cases on July 16. Even when you account for population size, the U.S. is doing a significantly worse job of controlling the pandemic.
Reopening stadiums is tempting but still potentially dangerous
While the country’s numbers look good right now, bringing fans back into stadiums could be incredibly risky for the Premier League, especially at full capacity. Manchester United has the largest stadium on the circuit, and it seats 74,879 people. That’s a pretty massive jump from the current maximum allowed gathering of 30 people. It would also be nearly impossible to guarantee safety measures like testing and mask-wearing with such large groups.
Fans could return to stadia, not at full capacity, in the UK from October, says prime minister Boris Johnson. Starting from the end of July some tests will be done to verify procedures and conditions required to get the fans back to the stadia.#PremierLeague #COVID19
— SN Sport (@SportNewsCentr1) July 17, 2020
Even though nothing is definite right now, there’s hope that we could at least be watching fans on television in the near future. The UK’s reopening of larger venues like tourist destinations and theme parks has gone fairly well so far, and if they stay on this track, full stadiums aren’t completely unattainable.