Dutch football to campaign for full stadiums this weekend

Dutch professional football will be campaigning for full stadiums this weekend using #stadionsvol. According to a joint statement by the football clubs, supporters, and other parties in professional football, allowing more spectators at matches can absolutely be done safely and responsibly, AD reports. The current coronavirus measures state that stadiums can only be filled to one-third capacity.

"Paid football is about playing in front of an audience. Playing football in front of empty or mostly empty stands is lacking in atmosphere, unnecessary, and costs a lot of money. 1/3 stadium occupancy is not a long-term solution," the statement read. "We don't want to go into a process that could take weeks or months. The Hague must issue a clear end date, after which we can build up to full(er) stadiums. We would at least like to receive everyone who has bought a season ticket as soon as possible."

According to Dutch football, previous field lab experiments showed that stadiums are not Covid-19 hotspots. "This is apparent from information from the GGD and is also logical: no one enters without their coronavirus access pass checked, and all spectators are in the open air. Research shows that there are hardly any infections outside."

They also launched a petition, which they plan to present to the government next Thursday. At 10:00 a.m. on Friday, it already had nearly 32,700 signatures.