Government must consider easing regulations at sport venues
As things stand regarding COVID-19 Alert Level 2, “only the required number of players, match officials, support staff and medical crew required for the sport match, are allowed at the venue of the sport match”.
This means that, until further notice, no spectators will be allowed at all the country’s sport venues.
Football fans and journalists have spent more than a year now watching and following the Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches on TV. Even though this has been a difficult period for everyone involved, playing all sport matches behind closed doors for the last year was a necessary step to take by the government to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
But with vaccinations in progress across the country and around the world, it’s about time our government starts considering easing regulations and opening things up so that fans and the print media alike can return to the stadiums.
Of course, if venues do open, it will have to be done in a carefully structured and proper manner, like playing all matches at 30 percent capacity or even less than that, as well as requiring vaccine passports before fans can be allowed to enter the venue.
Unlike in some European leagues where matches are played at full capacity, in South
Africa, our stadiums are never usually packed anyway except for Class A matches like the Soweto Derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates or matches involving Mamelodi Sundowns against the two Soweto giants.
Over 10 years ago, KICK OFF magazine did an investigative feature on crowd attendance figures in the PSL and our research established that average attendance figures at PSL matches was slightly more than 8000 supporters per match.
And this average was boosted by the Soweto Derby which can have 80,000 supporters present. If you take out the Soweto Derby attendance, the average attendance figures were far less than the 8,000.
And with these figures in mind, it will not be a problem to consider easing regulations or start o opening match venues at 30 percent c capacity.
South Africa is also blessed with world c class venues like Cape Town Stadium, F FNB Stadium, Orlando Stadium, Nelson M Mandela Bay Stadium and Moses M Mabhida Stadium that are big enough a and can allow social distancing to be o observed or easily managed.
If indoor establishments like movie c cinemas, theatres and casinos can be o opened with strict rules adhered to, it m makes very little sense that outdoors f facilities like soccer stadiums, where s social distancing can be easily observed, a are not opened.
In England, Premier League matches are already played at full capacity with no restrictions applied.
Last season the PSL finished the season in the bio-bubble where all teams were isolated from the general population – and this was the case in many sporting codes around the world.
But living in a bio-bubble is not sustainable and even though it has not been easy, professional players have learned to adapt to play sports in the time of COVID-19.
With vaccination numbers in the population going up, spectators will have to learn to adapt as well to the ‘new normal’.