The Football Association of Ireland welcomes the trial return of fans to tonight’s SSE Airtricity Premier League game between Shamrock Rovers and Finn Harps at Tallaght Stadium and the SSE Airtricity First Division game featuring Cork City versus Cab
The Football Association of Ireland welcomes the trial return of fans to tonight’s SSE Airtricity Premier League game between Shamrock Rovers and Finn Harps at Tallaght Stadium and the SSE Airtricity First Division game featuring Cork City versus Cabinteely FC at Turners Cross along with a limited return of supporters at all other League of Ireland fixtures this weekend.
The trial events are being staged as part of the Government programme to test the return of fans across Irish sport under the ‘Resilience and Recovery: The Path Ahead’ programme.
For these initial two trial fixtures tonight, the tickets have been allocated to home supporters only. Tallaght Stadium will welcome 1,000 Shamrock Rovers fans for the visit of Finn Harps while 600 Cork City fans can attend their game against Cabinteely. Other grounds will be able to accommodate between 100 and 200 supporters based on their capacity.
Tonight’s Tallaght Stadium and Turners Cross fixtures feature as the first two games in Phase One of the Government trials based on their ability to seat in excess of 5,000 spectators.
The next series of test games in Phase One of the trial match scheme will continue with the Shamrock Rovers v Drogheda United fixture on Friday, June 25 and the Shamrock Rovers v Dundalk fixture on Friday, July 2. The Women’s National League game between Shelbourne and Cork City on Saturday, June 26 will also feature as a trial game for the return of fans. A percentage of seats will be allocated for away supporters at all these fixtures.
Phase Two of the trial return of spectators will begin in July and will be extended to other League of Ireland and Women’s National League grounds. A minimum of 200 spectators will be allowed to watch all League of Ireland and Women’s National League games from July 5th with greater capacity at designated trial games.
Welcoming the return of supporters, FAI Chief Executive Jonathan Hill said: “The return of fans to our grounds from tonight is great news. I will be at the Shamrock Rovers versus Finn Harps game tonight and I am really looking forward to being part of the return of fans to our matches.
“After 15 months of living with the pandemic, having fans back at all our grounds will obviously be a real boost for all our players and our clubs. Supporters are the lifeblood of our game and it will be great to see them back in our grounds from this weekend on as we work with all stakeholders towards a full return of fans across all levels of our game as soon as it is feasible. I particularly want to assure away fans that they are next on our list for access as we move towards a return to normality.
“We thank Government for including us in this trial and we thank our supporters and our clubs for their patience over the last 15 months. We have waited a long time for the first step back on the Return to Watch. This weekend marks another significant step forward as we work on the return of fans at all our grounds and at full capacity as soon as that is deemed safe and possible by Government and all our stakeholders. We look forward to the next phase of the trial in July when more clubs will feature in the Government’s trial for the safe Return to Watch.”
