The Netherlands will allow 100% capacity next season

The Netherlands will allow football stadiums and other sports venues to be filled to 100% capacity next season as long as the attendees, who will not have to wear a mask, present a negative COVID-19 test or demonstrate that they are vaccinated.

“The start of the new season in the first division, in the second division and the women's league will take place in full stadiums, as was done before,” announced this Friday the Eredivisie and the Royal Netherlands Football Federation in a joint statement. .

Controls will be established at the entrances to sports venues to ask attendees for a negative test for COVID-19, done at most 40 hours before, or the vaccination card, and the mask will not be mandatory.

The attendance of fans of visiting teams, until now prohibited in games with limited capacity, will be allowed again provided that the local authorities approve it.

“It is news that we have been waiting for a long time, it has been a very difficult year for football,” said the Eredivisie and the federation.

The season will start with the second division games on August 6; the Super Cup, on August 7; the first division, on August 13; and the women's league, on August 27.

The relaxation of the measures in the stadiums is due to the fact that the Government announced this Friday that it will be possible to organize events at 100% of the capacity and without having to respect the safety distance, with a maximum of 25,000 people as of June 30 and without that last limit as of July 29.

The Executive explained in a statement that it has taken the measure because in summer “more people will have been vaccinated and infection rates are expected to fall even more.”

45.29% of the Dutch population have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 23.59% already have the complete regimen, figures slightly above the average in the European Union, although below countries such as Spain or Germany.