St Mary's Set To Be One Of Only Two Clubs To Let In Full 4,000 Fans.
It was great news that fans could be back in football stadiums within weeks, but the reality is that most Premier League grounds could well not be in a position to be able to admit supporters due to not meeting the requirements.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given the green light for up to 4,000 fans to go to Premier League games from December 2 onwards.
That would mean that potentially Saints could be playing in front of 4,000 Brighton fans the following weekend.
Elite sport clubs and events hosted outdoors in tier one locations will be able to welcome up to a maximum of 4,000 fans or 50 per cent of stadium capacity - whatever is lower. In tier two (high alert) locations the cap is set at 2,000 supporters or 50 percent of stadium capacity.
Clubs will not discover until later this week which tiers their local area will be placed in and how many fans will be allowed in.
Only two Premier League clubs - Brighton and Southampton, which are expected to remain under Tier 1 covid restrictions after the lockdown ends on December 2 - will be allowed to let in the maximum 4,000 fans.
There may be some other clubs who will be in tier 2 and thus able to let in 2,000 supporters, but many Premier League grounds including Liverpool, Everton, both Manchester clubs, Burnley, Leeds & Sheffield, Newcastle as well as the 3 West Midland clubs and those in London could well find themselves in at least tier 2 and about half in tier 3
That would leave potentially just Saints and Brighton in Tier 1 and able to let in the full 4,000 supporters.
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