Brighton frontrunners to welcome back fans at Amex Stadium

Brighton are frontrunners to become the first Premier League club to welcome back spectators when the Government announces more details on the resumption of crowd pilots this week.

Whitehall sources confirmed proposals to allow 2,500 fans into the Amex Stadium for pre-season fixtures had been considered as part of plans which could also see crowds at Women’s Super League games and the FA Trophy and Vase finals at Wembley in the coming weeks.

The first outdoors sporting crowd will be seen in Scotland, however, with Friday's meeting between Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors playing in front of 700 supporters at Murrayfield for the Pro14 match. The Scottish government granted permission for the tie to be the first rugby match in the UK to host spectators since the Covid-19 lockdown.

If the first pre-season trial at the Amex goes ahead without problems this weekend against undeclared opponents, another one will be arranged for next month with potentially double the amount of fans. Covid-19 rates are on the increase again across many parts of England, but the Government and sport remain determined to open up most sporting arenas from October 1.

The FA Trophy and FA Vase finals later next month would host the biggest pilots of all, with up to a maximum 10,000 supporters in the stadium - and with supporters attending from more than one club.

England's Wembley encounter against Wales in October remains in line to debut the return of international crowds after Uefa members last week agreed next month's internationals should all remain behind closed doors.

With a surge of new cases in Spain and France as well as infections increasing in areas such as Oldham, there had been fears preparations for the return of fans would be delayed in the UK. However, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport still remains hopeful that supporters will return from October – as announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month – despite the postponement of test events in other sports.

The Government has set a limit of 30 per cent capacity when football fans are allowed to return to stadia. That ceiling is expected to be challenged by the Premier League who want each ground to be dealt with on a club-by-club basis and believe it is too low for some who are able to handle more supporters attending.

The organisation is planning to put together ‘bespoke’ cases for every club, taking into account such factors as stadium design, transport links and local coronavirus infection rates.