British prime minister Boris Johnson has opened the door to opening the doors to Premier League stadiums.
Johnson says the UK will “pilot large gatherings” in August with a hope to allow big events from October.
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Premier League matches have been played behind closed doors for all of Project Restart and the 2019-20 season will end in two weeks time.
While October would presumably limit a full season’s worth of attendance including preseason, it would be a welcome development should attendance be deemed safe.
“We will pilot larger gatherings in venues such as sports stadia with a view to a wider reopening in the autumn,” Johnson said. “All of these measures, for August 1, should be done in a Covid-secure way. ... From October we intend to bring back audiences in stadia and allow conferences and other business events to recommence, again these changes must be done in a Covid-secure way subject to the successful outcome of pilots.”
Obviously another “wave” of coronavirus could challenge the plan, but this, for now and from a non-scientific expert perspective, would appear to be a rare bit of good news.