Up to 10,000 fans will be able to attend football stadiums from May 17

Going to a game is back in our sights

Football clubs in England will be permitted to welcome as many as 10,000 fans back into their stadiums in May - provided coronavirus rates continue to drop. Boris Johnson announced his roadmap for easing England back out of restrictions in the House of Commons on Monday, confirming that, from May 17, stadiums will be allowed to have either 10,000 fans or a quarter of full capacity in attendance for sporting events - whichever number is smaller. The prime minister stressed that the dates were not set in stone, and that the roadmap is also reliant on the success of the vaccination programme. Assuming all goes to plan, some fans are expected to have a taste of Premier League action prior to the end of the campaign with the final round of top flight fixtures scheduled to be played on May 23. This also means that some football supporters could be allowed to attend Euro 2020 matches held in England a matter of weeks later. Though the FA Cup final is due to take place on May 15, some reports suggest it could still allow supporters in as a test event. The last full capacity game in England took place on March 11 2020, when Liverpool hosted Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Although some fans were allowed to attend during the government's tier system regulations in December, the vast majority of typically match-going fans will have had to wait over a year to watch a game from inside a stadium.