London football fans back in Premier League grounds this weekend

Arsenal will play Rapid Vienna on Thursday night in front of a maximum 2,000 fans in the first 'elite' football match in London to have fans in over eight months.

London was placed into Tier 2 after the second national lockdown and this means that clubs can have up to 2,000 fans in their stadiums for matches. Tier 1 can have 4,000 but Tier 3 can have none. 

On the prospect of having fans back in stadiums, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, at the pre-match press conference for last Sunday's match against Wolves, said, "It is great news. It will only be 2000 to start with, but it's a start and I'm delighted."

West Ham United will be the first Premier League team in the country to have fans return when they face Manchester United on Saturday evening in front of 2,000.

The last Premier League match in London to have fans was on March 8th where Chelsea beat Everton 4-0. It was just 15 days before prime minister Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown in the battle against Covid-19.

Having fans back in stadiums will come as a great relief to the eight non-league clubs in London who previously couldn't have fans in and rely on matchday income to stay afloat. Sutton United have lost an estimated £200,000 due to the pandemic so getting fans back in any capacity will be a boost to the club's finances.

It will also be a big moment for AFC Wimbledon, who can welcome fans into their new stadium, Plough Lane, for the first time. The Dons' fans have not experienced a home game in the London Borough of Merton since 1991 after decades of ground-sharing with Crystal Palace as Wimbledon and then with Kingstonian as the new club.

From Wednesday, 20 London clubs will be able to welcome back fans. This weekend, 10 sides can potentially have their home fans watch in the stadium for the first time since March.

The government has announced 2000 fans can attend 'elite' football matches in London but due to regulations around social distancing, it is unlikely all sides will take the full number. Fulham, in the Premier League, are catering for 1,500 fans.

The decision to place London into Tier 2 when it has a higher R rate of 1-1.2 over the North West (0.8-1) which is in Tier 3 has been criticised by many Greater Manchester politicians. As seen by the graphs below, 12 London teams in the top four English leagues can have fans attend but the seven Manchester sides cannot.

There is an even split in the Premier League between clubs who can and cannot have fans.

However, the Championship has a majority of clubs who cannot have fans.

Just like the Premier League, there is an equal split between clubs in League One.

Unlike the other top four leagues, League Two has a majority of clubs that can have fans attend.

Regardless of the problems with the tier system, this weekend promises to be another stage in the UK's return to normality and, along with the progress in a vaccine, it must be celebrated.