UK football fans to return for first time since lockdown at the Irish Cup final
Football fans will be allowed inside a stadium in the UK for the first time since lockdown when Ballymena United meet Glentoran in the Irish Cup final at Windsor Park in Belfast on Friday.
Supporters have not attended matches since football was suspended in March, with games held behind closed doors as a condition of the restart in June. Hopes that the new Premier League season could start on 12 September with some fans in attendance were quashed on Monday when the sports minister, Nigel Huddleston, confirmed 1 October as the target date.
In Northern Ireland the easing of lockdown restrictions means 500 fans can attend the final on Friday. The Irish FA has been in talks with the Northern Ireland executive over having a crowd at its showpiece occasion since it was announced fans could attend outdoor sports events.
Windsor Park has an 18,500 capacity but only 250 fans from each club will be allowed in. Supporters of Ballymena and Glentoran, who reached the final with penalty shootout victories against Coleraine and Cliftonville respectively in semi-finals behind closed doors on
Monday, will be assigned seats behind the goals.
The delicate issue of who receives tickets has been decided differently by the finalists. Glentoran will distribute their allocation free of charge to players’ families, club vice-presidents, life members, life season-ticket holders and volunteers who, according to the directors, “have worked tirelessly to help the club through the recent public health emergency”. The remaining tickets went into a raffle among season ticket holders. Ballymena will draw a ballot from among season ticket holders, match-day staff and volunteers.
The IFA will employ extra stewards and supporters will have their temperature checked before entry. Testing players for Covid-19 is not mandatory under IFA regulations, unlike in the Premier League and EFL, but the organisation has paid for tests, as it did for the semi-finalists at Windsor Park. The winners of the 2019-20 Irish Cup will be decided almost a year after the competition started on 17 August 2019.
Patrick Nelson, the Irish FA chief executive, said: “This is a significant moment not just for the Irish FA, but I hope for other associations, leagues and clubs everywhere who are working hard to get football back with fans cheering the game on.”