I know some don't get the emails, so just sharing in case anyone missed this...
Following the Prime Minister’s statement on Tuesday evening and new covid-19 restrictions being put in place across the country - some of which will continue to directly affect the football club - I wanted to update supporters on how this affects the prospect of you returning to watch matches at the American Express Community Stadium.
Alongside fellow Premier League and EFL clubs, scientific experts, and government advisors, led by the Sports Ground Safety Authority, we have spent the last few months developing new guidelines and a code of conduct for your return to stadiums up and down the country. We used these for the pilot event we staged at the Amex back in August.
The guidelines have been designed to keep you and your fellow fans safe, and there is already evidence from European leagues, who have adopted similar measures for the return of fans, that they are entirely effective. Very importantly for us, they have also had the seal of approval from the 2,500 Albion fans who attended the Chelsea friendly, with the overwhelming majority feeling entirely safe.
In light of that progress, and after a considerable amount of hard work from the club’s staff and excellent co-operation from the fans who attended the pilot event, we had hoped to be safely welcoming fans back to the Amex for league games next month. Indeed, I remain convinced that our controlled environment is, and would be, safer than many others people are experiencing at the present time.
Like everyone else though, we are very concerned by, the rising coronavirus infection rate, not least because winter already places huge demands on the NHS. We have always maintained the safety of players, staff and fans is paramount and so, while we are very disappointed to see plans for fans returning to games paused, it is necessary for us to maintain perspective.
That said, the importance of re-starting our business at the earliest opportunity cannot be under-estimated. Clubs at all levels need the support of their fans for sporting, community and financial reasons. We are doing all we can to support ourselves, to pay our own way, and to be good citizens but the financial pressure on all clubs is mounting, and the status quo is simply not sustainable for any of us.
As an industry, the cost of playing behind closed doors cost Premier League clubs some £700m last season, and it is currently costing football clubs at all levels around £100m per month. With this, the livelihoods of many thousands of people in our industry, along with even more in the numerous industries that support us, and the communities we all serve, are now under real threat.
Unfortunately, at this point, we cannot say when we will be able to welcome you back to the Amex. The Prime Minister has suggested that current restrictions may have to stay in place for six months, but we remain confident and expectant that fans will be able to return to watch games sooner, even if it is in smaller numbers than might have hoped for a month or so ago.
So, please be assured that we will continue to work on and refine our plans for your safe return to games as soon as possible. We will also continue to support the Premier League and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s combined efforts to find an urgent solution that works for the football industry at all levels while also supporting the Government’s efforts to control the virus.
Your support - moral, financial, and sporting - for our club through this terrible national crisis has been unwavering, and we are extremely grateful. And, when the time comes for you to return, we will need you to continue to play your part by following whatever guidelines are in place at this time to keep you, your families and friends, and our staff as safe as possible.
Football is not the same without fans, and the football economy is unsustainable without you. We know how much you are missing meeting up with family and friends at games, and how much you are longing for your normal routine of going to the match. We are also well aware we are currently relying on your goodwill to support the club through the toughest and most unpredictable of times.
Separately, and to ensure you are fully prepared for your return to watch matches, we will be writing to you to outline more details of how the likely balloting process will work, and how you can link together with family members and friends.
In the meantime you have my word that we will do all we can to help colleagues up and down the country convince Government that we can safely stage matches with fans present; that, supported by our chairman and board, we will do all we can to protect 2,000 local jobs directly and indirectly sustained by our club; and in the meantime that we will continue to focus on the football to ensure we build on our solid start to the new season.
Thank you, once again, for your patience, for your encouragement, and for your countless messages of support. It means a lot to all of us.
Best wishes,
Paul Barber
Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman
Following the Prime Minister’s statement on Tuesday evening and new covid-19 restrictions being put in place across the country - some of which will continue to directly affect the football club - I wanted to update supporters on how this affects the prospect of you returning to watch matches at the American Express Community Stadium.
Alongside fellow Premier League and EFL clubs, scientific experts, and government advisors, led by the Sports Ground Safety Authority, we have spent the last few months developing new guidelines and a code of conduct for your return to stadiums up and down the country. We used these for the pilot event we staged at the Amex back in August.
The guidelines have been designed to keep you and your fellow fans safe, and there is already evidence from European leagues, who have adopted similar measures for the return of fans, that they are entirely effective. Very importantly for us, they have also had the seal of approval from the 2,500 Albion fans who attended the Chelsea friendly, with the overwhelming majority feeling entirely safe.
In light of that progress, and after a considerable amount of hard work from the club’s staff and excellent co-operation from the fans who attended the pilot event, we had hoped to be safely welcoming fans back to the Amex for league games next month. Indeed, I remain convinced that our controlled environment is, and would be, safer than many others people are experiencing at the present time.
Like everyone else though, we are very concerned by, the rising coronavirus infection rate, not least because winter already places huge demands on the NHS. We have always maintained the safety of players, staff and fans is paramount and so, while we are very disappointed to see plans for fans returning to games paused, it is necessary for us to maintain perspective.
That said, the importance of re-starting our business at the earliest opportunity cannot be under-estimated. Clubs at all levels need the support of their fans for sporting, community and financial reasons. We are doing all we can to support ourselves, to pay our own way, and to be good citizens but the financial pressure on all clubs is mounting, and the status quo is simply not sustainable for any of us.
As an industry, the cost of playing behind closed doors cost Premier League clubs some £700m last season, and it is currently costing football clubs at all levels around £100m per month. With this, the livelihoods of many thousands of people in our industry, along with even more in the numerous industries that support us, and the communities we all serve, are now under real threat.
Unfortunately, at this point, we cannot say when we will be able to welcome you back to the Amex. The Prime Minister has suggested that current restrictions may have to stay in place for six months, but we remain confident and expectant that fans will be able to return to watch games sooner, even if it is in smaller numbers than might have hoped for a month or so ago.
So, please be assured that we will continue to work on and refine our plans for your safe return to games as soon as possible. We will also continue to support the Premier League and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s combined efforts to find an urgent solution that works for the football industry at all levels while also supporting the Government’s efforts to control the virus.
Your support - moral, financial, and sporting - for our club through this terrible national crisis has been unwavering, and we are extremely grateful. And, when the time comes for you to return, we will need you to continue to play your part by following whatever guidelines are in place at this time to keep you, your families and friends, and our staff as safe as possible.
Football is not the same without fans, and the football economy is unsustainable without you. We know how much you are missing meeting up with family and friends at games, and how much you are longing for your normal routine of going to the match. We are also well aware we are currently relying on your goodwill to support the club through the toughest and most unpredictable of times.
Separately, and to ensure you are fully prepared for your return to watch matches, we will be writing to you to outline more details of how the likely balloting process will work, and how you can link together with family members and friends.
In the meantime you have my word that we will do all we can to help colleagues up and down the country convince Government that we can safely stage matches with fans present; that, supported by our chairman and board, we will do all we can to protect 2,000 local jobs directly and indirectly sustained by our club; and in the meantime that we will continue to focus on the football to ensure we build on our solid start to the new season.
Thank you, once again, for your patience, for your encouragement, and for your countless messages of support. It means a lot to all of us.
Best wishes,
Paul Barber
Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman
I’d expect nothing else but top standards from you HWT
