Walsall welcome news of fans returning to stadiums in October
Walsall have welcomed the announcement that fans could return to stadiums in England from October – after the government outlined further measures to reduce coronavirus lockdown.
Pilots will take place at selected cricket, horse racing and snooker events from August 1 with plans set to let fans back into stadiums from October 1.
The pilots will be used to ensure Covid-19 safety measures can be put in place properly before it is rolled out across the country.
With no date set for the start of the 2020/21 football season, clubs have been left in limbo over future plans.
For Premier League and Championship clubs it is less of a concern, as they have been playing behind closed doors since mid-June.
If the new season starts in September, lower-league clubs may be forced to play without a crowd for at least three weeks and financial support may be needed from above to keep clubs afloat.
However, Walsall chairman Leigh Pomlett previously revealed that the club has already budgeted for the possibility of no football until October.
Now, when asked to comment on the government announcement, the club said: “We welcome the news and will be working with the various governing bodies in order to safely manage the return of crowds to football stadia in due course."
Earlier this week, chief executive Stefan Gamble revealed that the club have been working on mapping out the Banks's Stadium and making a plan to house 3,000–4,000 socially distanced supporters, if they are allowed.
