Seven months after the pandemic broke out, the applause of the public returned this Wednesday to a match of the national team of Portugal, in which 2,500 people occupied the stands of the stadium Jose Alvalade. It was barely 5% of the capacity, but it was enough for the team led by Cristiano Ronaldo he listened to his hobby sing again “Portugal, Portugal” between applause and shouting at his team's scoring chances.
The game was a litmus test for the public's return to the stadiums: it was the first meeting with the public in the Portugal continental, after last weekend there was a League one in the Azores archipelago, where the conditions are different because it is governed by the rules of the regional authority.
Alvalade, fiefdom of Sporting from Portugal, welcomed the Portuguese fans with security measures: entrances through different doors to avoid queues, temperature measurement, mandatory use of a mask at all times and distance between seats.
Next week will also be held in Jose Alvalade he Portugal-Sweden, of League of Nations, this time with a 10% capacity.
The two matches will serve as “pilot matches” to decide a possible definitive return of the spectators to the Portuguese stands.