How football, rugby, boxing, racing and darts are gearing up for the return of fans

Football

At 9am on Saturday, the great ticket scramble begins for the first crowd to witness a home Premier League team in competitive action since March.

The 2,000 seats for Arsenal's Europa League match against Rapid Vienna on Thursday are expected to sell out in seconds after the club announced a “first come, first served" system for pre-registered members.

The club, which is one of ten from the top flight to fall to escape the Government's tier three category, had been forced to abandon a balloting system it plans to use for future league matches.

Uefa regulations for fans are likely to differ from a new Premier League code of conduct, which is still being finalised. All fans inside the 60,000-seater Emirates will be socially distanced, even for spectators who attend with other members of their household.

Arsenal said it had effectively abandoned any plan to use a ballot due to "the different restrictions and guidelines for Uefa matches, coupled with the short timeframe to provide and receive information from our fans, would have ultimately created too many complications and a risk of confusion and disappointment for supporters".

Tickets will be capped at four per booking running from £15 in the lower tier to £45 for club level, with prices of £7.40 and £22.50 respectively for disabled fans.

Meanwhile, the following round of Premier League action will see West Ham host Manchester United in the first league game with 2,000 inside. Chelsea’s late kick-off against Leeds United will also see the same number allowed into Stamford Bridge.

Due to a quirk in fixture scheduling, League Two Cambridge will get more fans in than any other team in the opening seven days. The club has three back-to-back home matches against Mansfield on Wednesday, Oldham on Saturday, followed by Gillingham the next Tuesday in the EFL Trophy.

However, United are also the most well-rehearsed, having staged one of the crowd pilots in September, and planned for another before the Government suspended plans due to the Covid second wave.

"We've got three in a row, but like our team on the pitch, we're up for a challenge, Ian Mather, the club's chief executive, told the Telegraph.

All three teams they play immediately after lockdown are in tier three areas. "On the face of it, it seems unfair, but we don't make the Covid numbers up," Mather said. "All we're doing is responding to what we're allowed to do. And I think as a football family, we owe it to each other to show that it can be done safely.  We're not in the ideal situation where so we've just couldn't make it work as best we can. Hopefully those places will have fans soon too."

Women's sport

The Women's Super League have already come across a stumbling block, with Everton ruling out hosting fans at the first opportunity on Dec 6, despite Tier 2 restrictions allowing them to do so. Instead, they are finalising plans to welcome fans back to Goodison Park for their men's Premier League fixture the following week.

Five out of six WSL fixtures next weekend are classified as falling into Tier 2 areas, and therefore eligible to host up to 2,000 fans (or half their stadium's capacity, whichever is fewer). Neither Arsenal, Chelsea, Reading or Tottenham have yet confirmed whether they will welcome fans back at their respective home games, but Everton became the first club to quell any hopes fans would be allowed into Walton Hall Park for the first time next week.

Just a mile down the road from Goodison Park, Everton's women's team moved to the 2,200 capacity Walton Hall Park in February, but have yet to host fans at the ground due to the pandemic.

There is better news out of women's top tier rugby though, with Worcester’s fixture against Gloucester-Hartpury on Dec 6 confirmed as the first Premier15s game to have a crowd allowed to attend this season.

Last year 1,500 watched Worcester’s women take on Bristol. Telegraph Sport understands the club is hopeful it will reach a crowd of close to 2,000 for the women’s fixture due to the appetite for live rugby at reasonable prices.

Rugby Union

If the sport could be accused of committing false start for the first lockdown, it seems that rugby union is intent on making up for lost time.

Back in March, Premiership Rugby chief executive Darren Childs made the rash suggestion that the 15-a-side code could win the first back onto television. It was one he came to regret. Childs had to wait another five months for his competition to restart.

Mercifully, there has been a quicker response to news that supporters will be allowed back into grounds with many of the Premiership sides in tier two areas – Bath, Exeter Chiefs, Gloucester, London Irish, Harlequins, Northampton and Worcester – poised to welcome back fans at the earliest possible opportunity.

Worcester’s meeting with Bath at Sixways on Dec 5 will be the first open fixture, and it was heralded as welcome news on Thursday.

“While we had hoped that Worcestershire might be placed in tier one, which would have allowed us to have a crowd of 4,000, it’s still fantastic news that we will have 2,000 spectators in for our match against Bath,” said Peter Kelly, Worcester’s managing director.

“We will also be making a little bit of history as the first Gallagher Premiership rugby match to be played in front of a non-pilot scheme crowd since March.

“It has been nine long and frustrating months since we last played rugby in front of our supporters and we hope that this is a first positive step back towards normality.”

Most clubs are still deciding exactly how tickets will be distributed, but it is a safe bet that commercial partners and season-ticket holders, many of whom have continued to support their teams in a time of financial worry, will be prioritised and rewarded.

Even those who must be patient in tier three have been proactive. Sale Sharks have a Champions Cup home game against Edinburgh on December 19, three days after the Government reviews its tiering system.

They aim to prepare as though their surrounding area will be downgraded from tier three to tier two. It could be that the Edinburgh game becomes a pilot event, with between 500 and 1,000 spectators, to show that the club can operate within coronavirus guidelines.

Darts

It will be darts... but not as you know it.

In recent years, Alexandra Palace at Christmas time has become synonymous with the sights and sounds of the PDC World Darts Championship: predominantly an abundance of fancy dress and unwearying chanting, all fueled by a not-so-healthy dose of alcohol.

Of all the sports to welcome back fans this winter, darts perhaps seems the least befitting of this socially-distanced Covid age. But, after London was confirmed in the Government’s new tier two of coronavirus restrictions, Telegraph Sport can reveal there will be a crowd at the sport’s flagship event next month.

How exactly that will work remains to be seen. With capacity at all indoor events capped at a maximum of 1,000, organisers are currently thrashing out the details with the Government.

Will spectators be able to sit on the traditional long tables alongside people from other households? How far apart do all the tables need to be? Is beer allowed to flow as freely as normal or can it only be served as part of a “substantial meal”, as is the case in pubs?

“I can’t see why there wouldn’t be fans there, we just have to work on the details of how they will be sat and what they have to do in terms of protocols,” PDC chief executive Matt Porter told Telegraph Sport.

“We’re waiting for final details from the relevant authorities on seating configurations and catering provision and working with all the main stakeholders. We’d expect to have tickets on sale in the not too distant future.”

Racing

Ludlow, Haydock, Lingfield and Kempton, the four meetings scheduled for next Wednesday, will be the first racecourses to host spectators - other than owners and a small crowd pilot at Warwick in September - and boast an atmosphere since the country was about to go into lockdown on March 16.

However the sport may have to wait until Saturday 5 at Aintree and Sandown for nearer the full complement of 2,000 racegoers; attendances at winter all-weather fixtures are usually measured in hundreds rather than thousands, Ludlow is expecting nearer 600 while Haydock’s equivalent fixture last year hosted 1,559 paying customers.

After the government announced its nationwide tiering system it emerged that 35 racecourses fall into tier 2 – including Sandown and Aintree - while 16 are in tier 3 (meaning no spectators other than owners along with five courses in Scotland and three in Wales.)

The news was welcomed by the Racecourse Association who announced a new set of operating protocols for each tier to allow for the ‘safe and enjoyable raceday experience which abides by the guidance issued by both the Government and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority.’

This means that spectators will have purchase tickets in advance, provide details of their party, wear face coverings all the time, travel by private transport where possible and ensure social distancing from fellow racegoers outside their household bubble.

“We’re pleased to see such progress being made with regard to the return of spectators and we now have a clear date to aim for, December 2,” said the RCA’s chief executive David Armstrong. “The speed at which the protocol has been created is testament to the skill and dedication of all who have worked on it.

“We are now in a position to bring back spectators, albeit in small numbers to start with, and begin to recover from the damage caused by Covid-19. We have all missed racegoers – the atmosphere, the camaraderie and the fact that many livelihoods depend on them. I hope that being back on a racecourse provides some respite from what has been an incredibly challenging year.”

Simon Sherwood, clerk of the course at Ludlow Racecourse in rural Shropshire, anticipates a crowd of 600-800 for its jump meeting on December 2. “We’ll have a better idea of numbers in the next day or two when we see the uptake of tickets,” he explained. “There’s plenty of space but we couldn’t take 2,000 and be socially distanced. It’ll be great to have an atmosphere and it’s a step in the right direction.”

Sam Cone, a spokesman for ARC racecourses, also said it would be a couple of days before interest in attending Lingfield would become clear.  “There won’t be any alcohol on sale because we can’t do substantial sit down meals (a requirement for serving alcohol) for anyone other than owners,” he said. “Members have been emailed a priority code for booking their e-tickets.”

Ironically Warwick, which hosted a small trial, is one of three Jockey Club owned courses in tier 3 along with Market Rasen and its Flat course, Nottingham. “The bulk of our forthcoming fixtures will be able to switch from behind closed door to welcoming up to 2,000 people, made up of racehorse owners and racing fans,” said a spokesperson.

“Our focus will now be on delivering Covid-safe events as we have done without crowds since racing’s resumption in June and at the successful spectator pilot we staged at Warwick.”

Nick Rust, out-going chief-executive of the British Horseracing Authority, urged all racegoers to enjoy themselves but follow protocols and rules. He added: “Patience is still required before we get back to the sort of numbers we would all like to see, and which will generate substantial financial returns to racecourses.”

Boxing

Anthony Joshua's heavyweight world title defence against Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev will be one of the very first boxing events which will be able to host 1,000 fans inside Wembley Arena on Dec 12, with Matchroom Sport having been in negotiation with Brent Borough Council in London.

Eddie Hearn, boxing promoter to Joshua and a director of Matchroom Sport, told Telegraph Sport: "We are waiting on specific instructions in terms of the government guidelines, and also Brent Council's opinion on what needs to be done to bring fans back for the Joshua versus Pulev fight on December 12. If it's safe to do so, and if it is logistically viable, then we will have one thousand people there.

"It's important to bring back fans safely as soon as possible, and if we can do it at such an iconic moment with Joshua fighting, then it would be great for boxing, great for sport, and great for the country."

Barry Hearn, chairman of Matchroom Sport, also explained to The Telegraph, outlining in more detail. "If we go ahead, we will have a range of tickets from 100 pounds to 1000 pounds. We want an equitable ticket system because we want boxing fans to be able to afford to attend the event which features one of Britain's great sports stars in Anthony Joshua.

"We have been in meetings from the government announcement because we want to get clarified very quickly with the local council. We hope to make an announcement very soon possibly tomorrow or Monday. There are lots of unanswered questions which need to be finalised, like, for example, food and drink at the venue, who is eligible to attend and how different areas are affected by the tier system, the health and safety of how the audience comes to the venue. Lots of complexities that are being clarified as we speak."