FANS may be allowed to attend next season’s Community Shield ahead of a wider return to football stadiums.
However, there are significant doubts over whether the game will take place at all.
Manchester City won the 2019 Shield after beating LiverpoolCredit: Reuters
The curtain-raiser could be used to test the social distancing measures that will inevitably be in place when supporters are reintroduced to games.
The Times report that the Community Shield may also be moved to a neutral ground other than Wembley, if better suited to the necessary measures.
The FA Cup winner traditionally meets the Premier League champions, meaning Liverpool are extremely likely to be involved and a fellow northern team may draw the clash away from London.
Premier League teams are will meet on Tuesday and are due to discuss the next steps of bringing fans back into stadiums.
Hopes of doing so before a coronavirus vaccine is available are growing as the pandemic subsides across the UK.
And football’s return in empty stadiums has strengthened views that fans are absolutely essential to the game and its product.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has spoken of his optimism over supporters returning for the new season, which is being eyed for September.
Any plan is expected to be phased with talk of semi-full stadiums being opened up first, allowing for social distancing.
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Government considerations over reducing the two-metre distancing rule to one-metre would make that plan significantly more viable and would reportedly allow venues to operate at as much as 50 per cent capacity.
Whether the Community Shield has priority in the congested 2020/21 calendar is also up for debate.
Uefa are intent on providing a full international schedule later in the year, with one gameweek potentially ending on September 8 – the eve of the new Premier League season.
Similarly, the Carabao Cup and FA Cup replays may be sacrificed to open up room for more lucrative matches.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden describes return of Premier League as hugely symbolic but warns fans to ‘support from home’
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
