Limited fans to attend UEFA Super Cup

Article posted by Coliseum, August 27^th, 2020

Image: MLSZ Hungarian FA

The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) Super Cup match between Bayern Munich and Sevilla at Budapest’s (Hungary) Puskás Aréna will be held with a 30-per-cent capacity crowd in September.

The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organized by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. It is not recognized as one of UEFA’s ‘major’ competitions.

The new Puskás Aréna, which opened last year, has a capacity of 67,000, meaning that around 20,100 fans will be able to grace the match on September 24^th.

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UEFA’s Executive Committee has decided to allow a limited number of supporters at the match as it studies the impact of spectators on the UEFA Return to Play Protocol. All other UEFA matches will continue to be a closed door affair until further notice.

UEFA announced last week that it was considering allowing fans at the match and the decision has now been confirmed.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin commented, “While it has been important to show that football can carry on in difficult times, without fans, the game has lost something of its character. We hope to use the UEFA Super Cup in Budapest as a pilot that will begin to see the return of fans to our matches. We are working closely with the Hungarian Federation and its Government to implement measures to ensure the health of all those attending and participating in the game. We will not take risks with people’s safety.”

Pilot event

Earlier, the UEFA announced that this year’s Super Cup in Budapest could be kind of a test run match for fan attendance at its events.

European football’s governing body decided in June that the 2020 Super Cup, the annual meeting between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League, which was originally due to be hosted by Porto (Portugal), will now be played at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest on September 24^th.

UEFA had a virtual meeting recently with all 55 General Secretaries of its member associations to discuss in particular the potential gradual return of fans to its fixtures. The meeting was part of the consultation process that UEFA is currently spearheading – also working in close collaboration with health authorities and Governments – to study the feasibility and impact of a potential return of fans in stadiums at club and national team competitions.

UEFA stated that the meeting brought to the fore the need for “strict hygiene and sanitary measures” to be in place to guarantee the health of all those present at a game before allowing fans to return. UEFA mentioned that it would be too early to allow fans into the upcoming national team competition matches to be played in the beginning of September and that pilot runs should take place to study precisely the impact of spectators on current medical protocols.

UEFA suggested using the Super Cup as a pilot match for which limited spectators could be allowed into the venue.

Earlier in August, UEFA announced Poland, Hungary, Greece and Cyprus could be used as neutral venue hubs for its matches.

This announcement was made after the 2019-20 Champions League and Europa League Round of 16 resumed with matches being a closed-door affair. UEFA last month confirmed that the remainder of the 2019-20 Champions League and Europa League seasons, including the new ‘Final Eight’ tournaments in Portugal and Germany, would be played out behind closed doors.

UEFA announced in June that Lisbon and Cologne would host the finals of tournaments to conclude this season’s Champions League and Europa League.

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