Football supporters and sports fans will be back in stadiums within weeks under Government plans to test how coronavirus spreads in crowds, once people have been vaccinated or tested.
Sports fans will be given the chance to have their fix of live action ahead of the Government’s target date for the return of supporters on May 17, in return for participating in the mass trials.
Sportsmail understands the Government has already approached the Premier League, EFL and other sports to ask if they will be part of trials, which are set to begin in April – which is just five weeks away.
Full capacity at stadiums could be achieved from June 21 at the earliest in Government plans
Meanwhile, Lancashire County Cricket Club has said it is ready to participate in order to bring fans back next month.
Whitehall sources stress that fans will not be put at risk, with test events across sports and the arts starting small and the data examined at every stage as the numbers ramp up.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Number 10 are determined to proceed as quickly as possible with an eye on the showpiece Euro 2020 final at Wembley on July 11.
A full house there would show off post-Brexit Britain as fighting fit.
Government officials have wasted no time and yesterday met with sports bodies to start the process of identifying suitable events, although no decisions have yet been taken.
Government plans to test the safety of crowds and increase capacities at sports events
Wembley Stadium could be packed with 90,000 fans for the Euro 2020 final on July 11
The trials will use an adapted version of the NHS app, which will certify if a person has been vaccinated or tested negative. The app can then be used to analyse any incidence of the disease or spread of Covid infections resulting from the event.
They will also trial rapid lateral-flow tests and potentially, home-testing kits.
The provision for test events is included in the government’s roadmap to lifting lockdown measures and they will be crucial to enabling high-profile events, like Euro 2020 to accommodate large crowds.
The document published on Monday sets out a four-step process for easing restrictions, which includes the return of up to 10,000 fans from May 17 as part of step three and the possibility of full-houses at stadiums from June 21 in step four.
The test events will build on those carried out last summer and the experience of fans returning to sport, albeit briefly and in small numbers, during the tiers system in December.
In August last year a carefully managed, socially-distanced test event at Brighton, when the Seagulls hosted Chelsea at the Amex stadium in front of more than 2,000 fans, did not cause an increase in local coronavirus transmission, according to a study carried out afterwards.
However, the risk of mass gatherings without distancing and in the absence of vaccination or tests are well documented.
Last year’s Cheltenham Festival faced serious questions over the ‘accelerated spread’ of the virus after 100,000 racegoers attended in March, just 10 days before the start of lockdown.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has pushed for the safe return of fans and persuaded Number 10 to set a potential date for full capacity in stadiums
Test events in 2020 relied on social distancing, hand washing and masks to keep people safe, the ones now being developed will reduce distancing and place more emphasis on testing and vaccination, with rigorous data analysis afterwards.
Rapid lateral flow tests will be part of the government’s trials for the return of fans
They are expected to assess the impact of the level of vaccination among fans, the results of testing and the age and demographics of spectators.
‘Over the spring the Government will run a scientific Events Research Programme,’ the roadmap document states, with the first pilots taking place in April.
‘This will include a series of pilots using enhanced testing approaches and other measures to run events with larger crowd sizes and reduced social distancing to evaluate the outcomes.’
Whitehall stresses that the test events are designed to gather data, not bring fans in ‘by the back door’.
However, the events may ease the discomfort of the Premier League, which is facing a potential backlash from clubs at the prospect of playing away in front on home fans in the last round of fixtures on May 23, when they are fighting for survival, European spots or even the Championship.
As reported by Sportsmail yesterday, top-flight clubs are expected to vote on whether to ban fans from that round of fixtures in order to protect the sporting integrity of the competition.
But allowing fans in throughout April would take the pressure off the last games and potentially enable the top flight to even up the playing field.
The government initially suggested that tests be conducted at a fixed number of grounds, however, Sportsmail has been told this was not well received by Premier League officials since it would hand a significant advantage to those clubs selected.
Test events will not be limited to football.
Daniel Gidney, Lancashire’s chief executive, yesterday welcomed the use of technology to monitor the vaccination and testing status of fans.
‘However difficult that is, in terms of return of crowds, it should be considered part of the talk,’ he added. ‘It’s not a silver bullet but it’s something that should be considered.’
In a briefing with reporters, Lancashire’s Gidney said cricket’s older demographic placed the sport in pole position for getting full stadiums.
‘It’s a perfect audience because a lot of them will have been vaccinated,’ he added. ‘We also have the space because we have 17 acres to do a lot of lateral flow volume testing and that is high on the Government’s agenda and we are very keen to support that.’
Yesterday, on a visit to south London, the Prime Minister said he was ‘very optimistic’ all restrictions would be lifted by June 21 because the vaccination programme had created ‘immense possibilities’.
Johnson has spoken of ‘deep and complex issues’ around demanding vaccine passports to allow entry to events. However, the Government is believed to be considering combining vaccination and testing to certify someone is virus-free.
Fans were banned from stadiums in March 2020, and returned briefly before lockdown three
Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled his lockdown exit strategy on Monday