The FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals are being lined up as test events for the return of supporters before major sporting events this summer.It is understood that
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Plan to bring back fans for FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals
Wembley could welcome socially distanced fans at test events
Martyn Ziegler, Chief Sports Reporter
Monday February 15 2021, 5.00pm, The Times
The FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals are being lined up as test events for the return of supporters before major sporting events this summer.
It is understood that the government is keen to explore ways of having socially distanced spectators for the big events, starting with the European Championship tournament and including Wimbledon tennis, the British Grand Prix, the Open and possibly some top race meetings and England cricket matches.
The confidence over spectators returning follows the successful launch of the vaccination programme in which 15 million people have received their first jabs against Covid-19.
Wembley is staging seven Euro 2020 matches and will need at least two test events if there are to be any fans there for the games, and the FA is planning on the basis of the stadium being 30-35 per cent full during the tournament but without supporters travelling from abroad.
The cup finals are being viewed as good opportunities for pilot events at the 90,000-seat stadium but with a smaller number of fans attending.
Once the government’s roadmap out of lockdown is published next week the Sports Technology and Innovations Group (Stig), which was set up in September, is expected to be asked to look at the best ways of getting spectators into venues, after the end of the domestic football season.
The group will be asked to come up with plans for minimal or no queueing. Spectators, potentially, will be requested to use the almost-instant lateral flow tests and wait for a negative result before entering stadiums.
Although the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) remains cautious. there is a strong desire at No 10 for major summer sporting events to be prioritised for the return of fans, at least in some numbers.
The Carabao Cup final is taking place on April 25 and it has already been pencilled in as the first test event for the new Wembley steps that have replaced the raised pedestrian walkway. The FA Cup final is scheduled to take place three weekends later, on May 15. There are other possibilities for test events, including the EFL’s play-off finals.
A source involved in the talks said that the idea was to identify events that will be targets for the return of spectators and then work backwards. “There are things to work on, such as avoiding any queues, sending tickets out in advance and lateral flow testing and, of course, finding out the numbers that can attend, but there is confidence it can be achieved,” the source said.
Another source indicated that the return of fans for Premier League and EFL matches had been all but ruled out for the rest of the season, although there could be a few games used as pilot events. The priority, according to the source, is to have Wembley prepared for Euro 2020.
The source added that the use of Covid vaccination passports was less likely as it could prove controversial, by appearing to discriminate against those that lacked them.
A British Horseracing Authority statement read: “British racing continues to liaise with government regarding how we believe the return of spectators can be managed safely, as it was at events in December.
“Their return is dependent on the attendance of spectators at sporting events being permitted under the UK government roadmap for reopening. Any racecourse proposals as to how they will manage the admission of spectators would need to be in line with DCMS criteria.”
