The UEFA Super Cup will allow fans as Bayern Munich and Sevilla square off in Budapest, Hungary on Sept. 24.
[ LIVE: Champions League scores ]
UEFA released a statement saying that 30 percent capacity of the stadium will be made available “in order to study precisely the impact of spectators on the UEFA Return to Play Protocol” as fans have been banned from stadiums since March by UEFA due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The UEFA Super Cup is a trial run to see if small numbers of fans will be allowed back into stadiums for UEFA’s Champions League and Europa League competitions when they return to play in October.
Further details have yet to emerge, as it’s not known if only locals rather than fans of Bayern and Sevilla will be able to attend the game at the Puskas Arena which has a capacity of over 67,000.
That means up to 21,000 fans could be in attendance for the UEFA Super Cup, as Champions League champs Bayern take on Europa League holders Sevilla following a successful summer tournaments hosted by UEFA.
The decision from UEFA’s Executive Committee is the first step in allowing fans to return to stadiums across its competitions, but they did add that games will be played in empty stadiums until a further update arrives.
UEFA added that it will continue to monitor the situation and this decision came after their latest consultative meeting with its 55 member associations. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin added the following comments about the decision to allow 30 percent of fans back in for the Super Cup.
“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,” Ceferin said. “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.”
The Premier League are also said to be in talks with the UK government over plans to allow a reduced number of fans to return to stadiums from Oct. 1.
That scenario hinges on the coronavirus outbreak in the UK remaining at the current level or decreasing.