OUR SURVEY SAYS

● 54% ‘EXCITED’ BY RETURN ● 88% TRUST CLUBS OVER SAFETY ● 77% TO COME BACK STRAIGHTAWAY

NON-LEAGUE fans are champing at the bit to watch their teams again – and trust clubs to ensure their safety.

That’s according to an exclusive survey carried out by The NLP with The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA).

While there are some fears over Covid-19, the overall response from fans has been positive. Almost 7,000 supporters had their say.

Andy Walsh, the FSA’s head of national game and community ownership, said: “It is hugely encouraging supporters are excited at the prospect of returning to watch live football and over 75% of supporters are ready to come back straightaway.”

NON-LEAGUE fans are champing at the bit to watch their teams again – and trust their clubs to ensure their safety.

That’s according to the survey carried out by The

NLP with The Football Supporters’ Association over the last couple of weeks.

While there are some fears over Covid-19, the overall response from fans has been positive and will be music to the ears of the FA, clubs and league administrators, who will have access to the results.

Almost 7,000 fans completed the survey. Of those, more than half (54.75%) said they typically attended more than 20 home games per season pre-Covid-19.

HEADLINES

Fans are excited (54.2%) and optimistic (44.9%) about the return of football. Just over one in five are apprehensive (22.2%).

Four out of five (81.7%) say football should only return with fans in stadiums

An overwhelming majority (88.1%) trust their club to ensure the safety of fans

More than three quarters (77.2%) say they will return from the first game back. A further 18% expect to be back within the first three months, while one in twenty (4.8%) say they will take more than six months, or potentially not return at all.

ATTITUDES

Of those coming straight back, more than two- thirds say that their reason for returning is that being a fan is part of their identity (71.9%) and that they want to financially support their local clubs and businesses (69.9%).

Six out of ten (59.3%) say their motivation for coming back is a desire for things to get back to normal.

Two thirds (66.4%) of those who are delaying their return by at least one month want to see things managed safely before they come back.

Four in ten (42.3%) would like to see the wider incidence of COVID-19 in society drop before they come back, and just over a quarter (27.6%) don’t want to be in crowded spaces any more, as a result of COVID-19.

Nearly one in five (18.9%) fans delaying their return have health concerns, such as having been shielding from COVID-19, and almost one in ten (9.1%) because they regularly attend with someone who has health concerns. One in 20 fans (5.3%) won’t be returning as their financial situation has changed for the worse.

Of those who say they are not returning at all, the lack of desire to be in crowded spaces again accounts for nearly half of fans (48.5%), with just over four in ten also having concerns around the wider incidence of COVID in society (42.7%). Nearly a third (29.4%) of those not returning are doing so because of health concerns.

AWAY FANS

A drop in away fans is expected – of those who intend on returning straight away one in nine (11.6%) expect to attend fewer away games against 8.6% who expect to attend more.

More than one in three (37.7%) say that potentially banning away fans is not a price worth paying for a return to football. However, 48.4% are in favour if that is the only way to return.

The biggest turn-offs to a return to football would be having to pre-book tickets (23.8%), restrictions on where you can stand/ sit (21.4%), a ban on away fans (20.6%) and no alcohol (18%).

SAFETY MEASURES

Of those who plan on returning straight away, seven out of ten (70.8%) would feel more comfortable about doing so if there was availability of hand sanitizer within stadiums.

Around two thirds would feel more comfortable returning in the event of a COVID-19 vaccine (66.8%). The other most reassuring safety measures would be clubs publishing their hygiene procedures (66.7%) and risk assessments (63.5%), and operating social distancing in queues (63.1%).

Less than a third (30.2%) would be reassured if fans were required to wear masks; four out of ten (40.6%) say that this would actually make them feel less comfortable. Limiting the capacity of grounds would only make around a third

(36.8%) of these fans more comfortable.

Of those delaying their return by up to a year, availability of a vaccine would make almost nine in ten feel more comfortable about returning. Support for other safety measures is greater among this group, with socially distanced queues (81.6%), availability of hand sanitizer (80.2%), and the publishing of hygiene procedures (78.8%) and risk assessments (77.3%) all 1015% higher than among those who plan on coming straight back.