One of the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley Stadium will be used as part of a series of events testing the return of large crowds to major sporting events in the UK.
The UK’s current plan is to allow venues to return to 25% capacity from 17 May, up to a maximum of 10,000 fans, but there are hopes that the FA Cup final on 15 May could host 20,000 fans.
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To try to prepare for the lifting of the restrictions, there will be a series of test events to see how feasible it is to welcome such large crowds in a safe way and cultural secretary Oliver Dowden told BBC Sport that one of the semi-finals has earmarked for a trial.
“We want to get as many people back as safely as possible,” Dowden said. “We want to make it as easy and convenient for people as possible. That’s why we are implementing these pilots.
The plan is to look at factors such as one-way systems, ventilation in a stadium and how you interact when it comes to getting to and from the arena.
“The purpose of this is not so much the total number, it’s how they interact with each other. So it’s the social distance they have from each other. It’s the behavioral factors. We will test them before and after to look at spread and see how they behave in the arena.
“We not only let everyone into the arenas, it is done in a very controlled way and the purpose is to get the rules so that it can be as safe as possible from 21 June.”
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It was not mentioned which semi-final will be used. Chelsea face Manchester City on April 17, with Southampton facing Leicester a day later for last place in the May final.
Dowden also revealed that the government is planning more test events before the final lifting of restrictions, with the FA Cup final and the world championship in snooker in Sheffield both of which were also thought to be on schedule.
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