THE Premier League has offered itself up as a nationwide “guinea pig” to lead the way back for fans at sports events.
League chief executive Richard Masters revealed he had told the Government-backed cross-sport working group that football will try out any dry runs that could open up the turnstiles.
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Fan will be able to get back to cheering on their heroes in the Premier League from SeptemberCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Masters said he was open to any scheme that would allow fans back, while a working group of top clubs hopes to confirm its own options soon.
And the League boss made it clear that allowing fans back into Prem grounds would be critical in giving the top flight clubs the chance to help teams lower down the football pyramid.
Masters said: “The thing that is missing from professional football from the Premier League is the fans.
“I don’t want to labour the points but the sooner we can get them back inside the stadiums, the better.
“The most important factor for the football economy to return to normal is the return of spectators.
“Football is willing to play its part in that and to offer up its own ideas and technical solutions.
“But we are also keen to act as a test pilot or a guinea pig for different concepts so that football and other sports can benefit.
“We want to see what will work effectively, keep fans safe and speed up the process in a safe and appropriate way.”
The government is clearly working with sport in order to reopen stadiums and allow in spectators
Richard Masters
Masters added that the Prem is looking at potential technological advances, including a “passport” app on smartphones, that could be a solution to allow fans in.
He said: “The technology doesn’t seem to be available yet.
“But if those investments can be made by Premier League clubs to overcome some of the issues that sport on a more wider basis might happen or might face we will have that conversation.
“The government is clearly working with sport in order to reopen stadiums and allow in spectators.
“We would like the government to be flexible in its approach about how we can return to full capacities.”
Prem clubs have been accused of looking after themselves at the expense of lower division sides, an argument rejected by Masters, who nevertheless pointed to the financial realities all of football is facing.
He added: “On an annual basis we provide around £200million-worth of funding.
“We made that good in 2019-20. In fact it was all paid prior to Covid-19 happening.
So pounds 110 million in solidarity funding, £60m in academy funding and £30 million in community funding.
“We want to continue with that and we think that is the right and appropriate thing to do, despite the significant losses the Premier League and its clubs have suffered, plus the continued economic and financial uncertainty looking into the future.
“So far we haven’t had a specific approach from the EFL about the size of the problem or a specific instrument that might need to be looked at.
“If that approach were to come quite clearly we would sit down with the EFL and have a discussion with them and look at our circumstances at the time and also their own.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
