Fans can return to football as Brighton host Chelsea
Brighton & Hove Albion will become the first club in England to allow fans to return with 2,500 supporters permitted to attend a friendly on Saturday 29th August against Chelsea.
The government have granted permission for the Amex Stadium to open its gates at less than 10% capacity in a test event for the gradual return of supporters to stadiums.
Seats in the East Stand, South Stand and the South Stand hospitality section will be available to purchase for 1901 members and season ticket holders in priority windows based on loyalty points.
Tickets are priced at £10 adults and £5 concessions whilst anyone wanting to hobnob in hospitality can do so for £15. Visiting supporters are not permitted and even if the game does not sell out, no tickets will be made available on the day for track and trace reasons.
The club have advised those who wish to sit together to book tickets in a row. Empty seats will still have to be left between supporters, even if you live with the person whom you are going to the game with.
Brighton have been one of the more proactive clubs when it comes to getting fans back into matches. The club held an impressive Q&A session with season ticket holders last week in which it explained the protocols and rules that would be in place.
These included non-transferrable tickets, social distancing inside the stadium and a limited choice of food and drink. No comment was made on whether £3.20 bags of Starburst would be included, but Paul Barber did confirm that bottle lids are still banned even in this post-lockdown world.
For the visit of Chelsea, hand sanitiser stations will be on offer at every turnstile, entrance and exit point at the Amex. Photo ID must be shown to gain entrance and all tickets will need to be either printed at home or stored to a Google Pay/Apple Wallet.
Face coverings must be worn at all times unless supporters are sat in a seat or consuming food and drink and random temperature checks will be taken.
The stadium will no longer accept cash, although this was going to be introduced for the 2020-21 season anyway. We look forward to the inevitable chaos when the WiFi goes down.
Should all go well, then Brighton and the rest of the Premier League will hope that the return of fans to the Amex can lead to supporters being permitted when the real action begins a fortnight later.
The Albion ironically kick their season off against Chelsea, so this match will provide an early opportunity for the two sides to take a look at each other.
Brighton have never beaten the Blues in a competitive game. In fact, it was not until January that the Albion took their first ever league point from Chelsea when Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s goal of the season contender secured a 1-1 draw against Frank Lampard’s side.
The Seagulls did however defeat Chelsea last time the sides met in non-competitive action back in 2012. It was the Blues’ first game on English soil after winning the Champions League with Brighton ruining their homecoming by running out 3-1 winners.
Vicente, Ashley Barnes and Andrew Crofts were on target after Lampard had netted the opener for a Chelsea side containing John Terry, Fernando Torres and a new signing by the name of Eden Hazard.
