It’s with regret that our pre-season encounter against Plymouth on Saturday, 17th July will now be played behind closed doors, with spectators not permitted to attend.
The Club has taken this decision due to an array of factors associated with the hosting of a test event before the COVID-19 restrictions are eased further from July 19th.
However, this match (and all of our remaining pre-season fixtures) will be available to stream on iFollow for all of those supporters looking to continue to support the club but are unable to attend the games.
Our three remaining home fixtures against Swansea City (24th July), Havant and Waterlooville (27th July) and Oxford United (31st July) will all have supporters permitted.
Home fans with ticket history or purchasing a match ticket in the last five years will be eligible to purchase tickets. No away fans will be permitted for these fixtures. In order to purchase a ticket, you will need to activate your ticketing account on Ticketmaster, details of which will be sent to you shortly.
The Club takes seriously its duty of care to supporters and will ensure social distancing is in operation during the pre-season fixtures, by allowing ticket sales across the whole stadium footprint. In addition, as was the case at the Euros, all attendees will require either proof that they have had their two vaccinations or evidence that they have returned a negative lateral flow test 24 hours prior to the game. Full details on this and the safety measures in place can be found in our Code of Conduct which will supporters must adhere to whilst at the Stadium.
Season Ticket holders will have a priority window for purchasing tickets before tickets go on general sale and more match tickets will be made available to purchase, should ticket demand dictate. Tickets will be on sale via Ticketmaster only with digital tickets provided as the safest means of gaining entry to the stadium. If for any reason you are unable to use this system or don’t have the means for a Digital ticket a helpline will be available to ensure that you can purchase. More information on this will be released when the tickets go on-sale.
CEO Martyn Starnes said, “We take our responsibility regarding the safety of supporters very seriously and we are in constant dialogue with the safety advisory group (SAG) to ensure all relevant guidelines and procedures are both instated and adhered to.
“Unlike a large proportion of clubs, we didn’t have the opportunity to stage a test event last season and the implications of hosting a test fixture before the restrictions are relaxed would have a significant impact on the permitted attendance figure, resulting in an increased cost to the football club.
“Heading into the new season it is vitally important that we all continue to operate with caution to ensure that we don’t do any risk to the full attendance of supporters once the season starts. We hope that supporters can understand our reasoning for this decision and we look forward to welcoming fans back to the Mem safely in the near future.”