UEFA Super Cup: Fans arrive in Budapest for COVID-19 ‘pilot’ game

Football fans have arrived in the Hungarian capital Budapest for European football’s first major match open to spectators since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The final comes as much of Europe tightens its social restrictions for a second wave of the novel coronavirus. Hungary and European football’s governing body, UEFA, will review the health effects of Thursday night’s Super Cup, a traditional season opener played by Champions League winners (Bayern Munich of Germany) and Europa League champions (Sevilla of Spain). UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called it a “pilot project” and said the organisation will decide what to do about international football games after the match. “In principle, it will be us and the [Hungarian] government of course [to evaluate the health effect of the game] and in principle we trust the governments around Europe,” Ceferin told a news conference after a meeting of football leaders in Budapest. Last month, UEFA announced its decision to allow a reduced number of fans into the Puskas Arena, limiting attendance to around a quarter of the stadium’s 67,000 capacity to ensure the maintenance of social distance regulations. UEFA on Thursday said 15,500 tickets had been sold for the match. Fans will be expected to maintain a 1.5-metre (five-foot) physical distance where possible and thermal cameras installed at entrances will scan body temperature. Mask wearing is compulsory inside the stadium but only “strongly advised” for fans in their seats. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">