Football stadia won't be full until the very end of 2021 at the earliest, according to Arsene Wenger.
The legendary Arsenal manager is now FIFA's chief of global football development in his life after coaching.
Wenger began the position in November 2019 and for most of his time in the organisation he's been operating during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He hopes to see stadia across the globe brimming with supporters as soon as possible - but he predicts up to another year of shutouts before fans can return in full.
Even then, he's concerned Covid variants potentially impacting vaccine efficacy could leave the gates locked for years to come.
Wenger told beIN Sports: "I would say, certainly if we want spectators back, to have vaccinated people only allowed in the stadia.
"People have started to raise that question. It will depend as well how efficient a vaccine is against variants of this virus.
"If the vaccine is efficient I'm quite positive, if it doesn't work against variants of the virus it will be for years.
"Overall, I think end of '21, beginning of '22 we should be back to full capacity."
Wenger recently attended the Club World Cup competition in Qatar, which Champions League holders Bayern Munich won after seeing off Mexico's Tigres in the final.
Fans were present in the capital of Doha though the final venue, Education City Stadium, was nowhere near its 40,000 capacity.
"It was unbelievable For me it was like going to a football game for the first time," he added.
"I realised that without noticing, I'd got used to this."
