Albion Chief Exec Praises Fans, As Rule-Change Allowing 2,000 Fans Approaches

Thursday, 26 November 2020 13:25

By John Warburton @Warblefly

The American Express Community Stadium for Brighton and Hove Albion

Brighton and Hove Albion Chief Executive Paul Barber has praised the loyalty of Albion fans as the club prepares to welcome supporters back to a Premier League game for the first time in more than nine months.

Although Albion successfully staged a test event in a pre-season friendly against Chelsea in August, supporters haven't been present for a league game at the Amex since Crystal Palace on 29th February.

But the football club now understands there will up to 2,000 supporters at the game against Southampton on December 5.

He said:

“In the short-term it's an important first step, and secondly it's an opportunity to re-engage with our fans.

"They have been incredibly loyal throughout the pandemic and even being able to get 2000 back into our stadium in the near term will be a welcome reward for them.”

Albion played out a 1-1 draw in pre-season with Chelsea in front of 2500 supporters.

Albion were praised for the success of the test event held in August, with no coronavirus cases as a result of it.

The operational plan used will be repeated against Southampton and subsequent matches, when it is hoped that the club may be able to welcome back even more supporters.

Paul Barber continued:

“Our absolute priority is to make sure people can come back safely, that we maintain social distancing, that people wear face masks in and around the stadium.

"We do expect people will take responsibility not only for themselves but also for their fellow fans and our staff so we can prove to government that we are in a position to expand the number of fans sooner rather than later.

“Long-term we are preparing for up to 25 per cent of our capacity, which would be much closer to 7-8000 supporters.

"At those sort of levels, it's financially more viable for us.

"Our aim is to scale up the number coming back safely as quickly as we can. If we can do that, then football returns to a much more viable position that we have been in for some time now."

But what about changes to matchday routines, that might negatively affect some fans?

“I think the lightest possible touch compared to a normal match day is really important.

"That way we can get more cooperation with fans.

"We want people to come back and enjoy themselves. "

"It's been a long, long time since football fans have been able to support their team in stadiums and I would hope they would respect and look after each other.

“But we would hope that they sing and shout as they have done for many, many years.

"We're looking forward to it — It's a small first step back towards where we want to be.”