Scottish football is set for a huge Covid shot in the arm next month with padlocks set to come off the turnstiles in time to let fans in for the end-of-season top-flight playoffs.
And the prospect of fans being allowed back by the middle of next month may even help convince the SFA to switch the Scottish Cup Final away from the national stadium in order to get supporters back for the showpiece season finale on May 22.
Record Sport can reveal plans are being drawn up to allow as many as 2,000 supporters into both legs of the play-off double header which will decide promotion to and relegation from the Premiership.
The move comes after the Scottish Government announced the country is to be released from lockdown and returned to a coronavirus tier system - with all of Scotland expected to be placed in level two by Monday, May 17.
And the planned lifting of restrictions means club football is in line to be given the green light to reopen its gates a month ahead of schedule, with around 12,000 fans expected to be at Hampden for Scotland’s Euro 2020 curtain raiser against the Czechs on June 14.
Nicola Sturgeon’s recently published road map out of lockdown has helped accelerate plans for domestic football to begin to return to normal.
The lifting of restrictions will come too late for Rangers fans to attend their side’s title celebrations when Aberdeen visit Ibrox on May 15 - or for supporters at the other end of the table to attend the final day relegation shoot-outs the following day.
But by the time the Premiership play-off final first leg kicks off on Wednesday, May 19, the Government expects the entire country to be in level two or lower.
And that means crowds of up to 2,000 will be permitted to attend the nail-biting showdowns, with the second leg to follow four days later on May 23 - the day after the Scottish Cup Final.
At present the cup final is scheduled to go ahead as planned behind closed doors at an empty Hampden but only because, from May 14, the stadium is to be handed over to UEFA to begin preparation work for this summer’s Euros.
However, the prospect of supporters being allowed into play-off matches on either side of the big event may yet force the SFA into a late rethink.
With Rangers and Celtic about to go head-to-head in this weekend’s fourth round derby either Ibrox or Celtic Park would be available to be used as a neutral venue for this season’s final if the governing body does decide to conduct an 11th hour u-turn.
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