Brazil will allow 12,000 fans to attend next month’s World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina, the first step towards what it hopes will be a return to full stadiums, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said.
“The game will be the first and important test for the presence of fans at big sporting events in Sao Paulo state,” the CBF said in a statement late on Tuesday.
The game is scheduled to take place at Corinthians Neo Quimica Arena on Sept, 5. The ground has a capacity of 48,234.
Brazilian football has been played behind closed doors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
More than 575,000 Brazilians have died after contracting the virus but the daily death toll is slowing and vaccination rates are increasing, giving authorities hope of a return to normal.
The Brazil-Argentina qualifier for Qatar 2022 is one of three that each South American team will play between Sept. 2 and Sept. 9.
However, the main leagues in England and Spain have said they will not release players for the games because of quarantine issues on their return.
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; editing by Clare Fallon)
