Hull City, Middlesbrough, Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers to take part in pilots as fans return to professional football

League One Doncaster Rovers and League Two Bradford City will also play in front of a crowd at the weekend, with Charlton Athletic and Forest Green Rovers' grounds also chosen for the experiment, which will see ten Football League matches played to attendances of no more than 1,000.

The Football League is in discussions with the Government about the return of supporters in greater numbers from next month.

October 1 had been earmarked for the return of limited crowds to major sporting events, but there has since been a tightening of coronavirus restrictions nationwide, with greater regulations for designated hotspots.

The Premier League has said it will not take part in experiments with such small numbers of fans as it is not financially viable in their stadia, but without the buffer of big television deals, clubs in the third tier and below desperately need the income from supporters returning to matches.

No fans have been allowed into grounds since the leagues abandoned games because of the pandemic, following the March 7 matches.

The Premier League and Championship completed their seasons behind closed doors from June, but the divisions below decided this was not possible.

Hull hosts Crewe Alexandra in League One, whilst Middlesbrough are at home to Bournemouth.

“The health and well-being of supporters and their wider communities remains the priority, but as we showed at Cambridge (where a pilot took place before the latest restrictions came in), social distancing can be applied safely,” said Football League (EFL) chairman Rick Parry. “By extending across more EFL clubs we hope to further demonstrate that the measures developed can allow fans to return in greater numbers from as early as next month.

“The requirement to welcome spectators back through turnstiles has not diminished in any way, the financial challenges facing EFL clubs have been explained on numerous occasions, they are substantial and a problem that requires immediate solutions."

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden said: "I know that many fans are eager to return to football and that jobs depend on this too, so fans will welcome news that the EFL will be running number-capped, covid-secure, and socially-distanced pilots this weekend. This will help us build the evidence base to see how we can return fans safely in greater numbers as soon as it is safe to do so."

The other matches involved in the pilot are Luton Town v Derby County, Norwich City v Preston North End, Blackpool v Swindon Town, Shrewsbury Town v Northampton Town, Carlisle United v Southend United and Morecambe v Cambridge United.

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