Brazilian Ministry of Health Authorizes Soccer Games to Have Fans Back in Stadiums

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ministry of Health approved a study by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to enable the return of fans to stadiums and soccer venues amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Organizer of the Brazilian National Championship, the organization was given the endorsement of the federal government body on Tuesday, September 22nd, but is still analyzing when and how to implement the plan. The initial plan is for this to occur in October.

The study provides a maximum of 30 percent of the stadiums’ capacity available to fans and only for the home team supporters, while visitors will remain without access to the matches.

Approval from local health authorities will also be required, and the teams will be required to comply with protocols established by each region’s government.

The state and municipal governmentsl of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo did not comment on the matter.

“The opening of stadiums is entirely imprudent and unnecessary because it involves risks in the venue and transport. There is no place in the world that is accepting fans to return [in a 30 percent proportion]. Surely a stadium is one of the venues with the highest spread of the virus, as seen in the case of Atalanta playing in Milan, which led to the most severe epidemic in Italy, in Bergamo,” said epidemiologist Paulo Lotufo.

With the Ministry of Health’s endorsement, CBF will now convene club leaders to define when and under what terms the public will be able to attend games.

The study was forwarded to the Ministry of Health by the CBF’s medical coordinator Jorge Pagura and provides a scenario with the return from October. On Tuesday, he confirmed that he had received approval for the CBF to implement the plan for the fan’s return to the stadiums. The Ministry of Health also failed to comment on the matter.

Since March, when the state championships and the Copa Libertadores competition were paralyzed as a means to mitigate the infection by the coronavirus, soccer teams are struggling with the loss of revenue from tickets and the so-called “matchday” (profit from boxes and season tickets, in addition to the sale of food and beverages on match days).

Source: Folhapress