Fans To Return To Wembly For FA Cup Semi-final Match

One of next month’s FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley will be among the pilot events to trial the return of large crowds to UK venues.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told BBC sports editor Dan Roan that a game on either 17 or 18 April will be part of the trial programme.

The FA Cup final and the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield are also on the schedule.

“We want to get as many people back as safely as possible,” said Dowden.

The semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester City will be shown live on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer on Saturday, 17 April, with Leicester v Southampton on the following day.

Dowden also said more pilot events would be announced later this week after confirmation from the government that the next stage of the planned easing of restrictions on 12 April is on track.

The following stage, scheduled for 17 May, would allow stadia to open with a 25% capacity limit, up to a maximum of 10,000 spectators.

The current plan is then for all restrictions on social contact to be lifted on 21 June.

“We want to make it as simple and convenient as possible for people. That’s why we are conducting these pilots,” Dowden said.

“The plan is to look at factors like one-way systems, ventilation within a stadium and how you interact in terms of getting to and from the venue.”