Plans remain in place for Chelsea's FA Cup final showdown with Leicester City at Wembley next month to be staged in front of 21,000 supporters following the successful pilot events that have recently taken place.
Last weekend, 4,000 supporters were in attendance at the national stadium as Leicester defeated Southampton 1-0 in their FA Cup semi-final, before 8,000 supporters attended Sunday's Carabao Cup final between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
The two events took place under the government's Events Research Programme in an attempt to start and get supporters back into stadiums in large numbers after more than a year away as a result of the pandemic.
Even though it is too early for the data from those two events to be reviewed, the actual proceedings of those fans making their return to football matches passed with flying colours, with no troubles or issues being reported.
With that said, according to Sky Sports News, plans now remain in place to allow 21,000 supporters to attend the FA Cup final on May 15, meaning Chelsea and Leicester look set to go toe-to-toe with the backing of some of their fans inside the stadium.
Should that plan remain place and the final is staged in front of such a large number of people, it will be the biggest mass gathering the UK has seen at a sports venue since the pandemic began to take hold last March.
Should the FA Cup final be staged in front of the planned 21,000 people, it will be another box ticked and obstacle passed in the UK's route back to normality, with football supporters up and down the country eager to watch their teams again with their own eyes from next season.
Considering a lot of lower-league clubs do not attract crowds of anywhere near 21,000, they will be desperate to get their turnstiles moving again next season if the FA Cup final passes without any major incidents or the post-event data shows up any alarm bells.
