September 21 – Flamengo vs Athletico Paranaense on October 4 will be the first game with fans at the Maracana after Rio de Janeiro’s mayor Marcelo Crivella greenlighted the return of supporters.
Rio’s landmark stadium will welcome back 20,000 fans in what will be a test run for other stadiums to open their doors again as well. Crivella called upon everyone aged over 60 or under 12 to stay at home.
It will be mandatory to wear a mask inside the stadium and respect social-distancing rules. Tickets will only be available online to avoid queues at the gate.
The mayor is hopeful that the return of football matches can keep Cariocas off the beach where they have not been respecting social distancing and where it is hard for city officials to fine people.
He commented: “We will appeal to CBF, in the sense that Maracanã is an alternative to the beach. Today perhaps the biggest problem in Rio is the large crowds of people without a mask on the beaches. If the game can be at 11am it would be great for us. We are talking about 20,000 fans in Maracanã, 1/3 of its capacity. There would be maybe 20,000 fewer people on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.”
Other clubs will be watching closely. Vasco da Gama play their home matches at the Sao Januario stadium in a densely populated neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro while Botafogo use the Nilton Santos Stadium, which served as the Olympic Stadium in 2016, as their home ground.
Both Vasco da Gama and Botafogo have however been reluctant to resume normal activities during the coronavirus pandemic. The two clubs objected to Flamengo’s push to restart football in the middle of the health crisis. The reigning Brazilian champions also broke quarantine rules to train.
Flamengo have been advocates for fans to attend matches again, but Corinthians president Andres Sanchez said his club won’t take to the field if fans are only allowed to return in Rio.
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have been the two hardest hit cities in Brazil. South America’s largest country has 4.5 million coronavirus cases and almost 137,000 people passed away after contracting the disease.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1713513863labto1713513863ofdlr1713513863owedi1713513863sni@o1713513863fni1713513863