This month’s 2020-21 Carabao Cup Final between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur will host fans under the guise of an official test event.
With a majority of clubs having not hosted fans in stadiums since early March 2020, both Man City and Tottenham will be allowed a limited ‘proportion of tickets’ for club supporters at the showpiece Final on Sunday 25 April.
Further ticketing and club allocations will be announced in due course whilst remaining allocations of tickets will be given out to NHS staff as a ‘thank-you’ gesture for their service throughout the Coronavirus pandemic as well as local residents within the Brent Borough.
A total maximum of 8,000 fans are therefore expected to be in attendance at this event.
EFL Chair, Rick Parry has spoken of how “absolutely delighted” he is to see supporters return for the 2021 Final, in what he describes as “another important milestone” in the process of slowly returning fans to football stadiums at full capacity.
The EFL is supporting the UK Government in their Events Research Programme and will work in collaboration with Wembley Stadium, local authorities and specialists in charge of the research programme with an aim of having fans back for this season’s play-offs and the start of next season.
Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCSM) Secretary, Oliver Dowden also commented on this announcement, saying; “This science-led pilot programme will be the springboard in getting the buzz back of live performance.
“We’ve supported the sports and arts with unprecedented sums, but it’s now time to make that Great British Summer of live events a reality.”
4K Crowd For FA Cup Semi-Final
A week prior to the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley Stadium sees the FA Cup semi-finals take place, with Leicester’s semi against Southampton chosen to be a test event in front of 4,000 fans on Sunday 18 April, although it is expected to be made up of local Brent residents only.
Depending on how the first two test events go, it is hoped that a crowd of 21,000 fans will be permitted at Wembley for the 2020-21 FA Cup Final on 15 May.
FA Chief Executive, Mark Bullingham is “delighted” with the decisions to allow spectators in for three of the next four matches at Wembley, saying; “We’re delighted to be hosting three test events at Wembley and are confident we can offer a safe environment,”
Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final against Man City is being held behind closed doors due to concerns over fairness if only local residents are permitted to attend, given the proximity of Brent to Chelsea within London.
Premier League meanwhile are considering swapping matchweek 36 from 11-13 May to 18-20 May to ensure that all top-flight teams have at least one home game in front of fans, due to the lifting of bans on football crowds from 17 May.
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