Allow football fans to attend matches at all levels
200,571 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 29 September 2020; it closed on 29 March 2021. The Government responded on 21 October 2020. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 9 November 2020.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Allow football fans to attend matches at all levels
Football is a powerful tool of which allows a range of benefits such as employment, and other important aspects of life. Football can be associated with passion, emotion, excitement and dedication across the community. With Fans attending football games a range of economic benefits are there too.
Due to the current issues around COVID places such as France and Germany now allow a percentage of fans to return to football games. I ask for the support of this petition as I fear that smaller clubs in particular will go out of business leading to a devastating effect on people. This petition is to ask the government to reconsider their judgement on not letting football fans back into the stadiums and reconsider doing this with the right safety measures in place surrounding the COVID-19.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 21 October 2020. Its summary:
We will take the earliest opportunity to look again at getting spectators safely back into stadia but this must clearly be done carefully against the prevailing health conditions.
The response in full:
Football clubs form the bedrock of our communities and play a vital role in the local economy. Their importance has been clearly demonstrated throughout the pandemic with clubs at all levels providing incredible support to their area.
That is why the Government is committed to supporting sports clubs up and down the country, with many football clubs benefitting from the Government’s unprecedented financial support to businesses.
The Government is fully aware of the importance of getting spectators back into stadia for many sports, and the financial consequences of the decision not to allow this from 1 October. The evidence received from the Chief Medical Officer was very clear that at a time of rapidly rising infections, and when the Government was considering restrictions elsewhere, it was not the right time to undertake any further easements.
We will continue to work closely with a whole range of sports to understand the latest thinking that might allow spectators to return. This includes the creation of a new Sports Technology Innovation Working Group of sporting bodies and health experts to analyse new technologies which might support this. This will supplement the draft government guidance, and the SGSA supplementary guidance to their Green Guide, which has been internationally welcomed.
We are committed to getting spectators back into stadia as soon as it is safe to do so.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 952, came from Meriden.
199,011 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,560 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Meriden | 952 |
| Solihull | 813 |
| Sheffield South East | 778 |
| Stoke-on-Trent North | 769 |
| Lincoln | 759 |
| Swansea East | 745 |
| Hove | 740 |
| Birmingham, Northfield | 704 |
| Morley and Outwood | 700 |
| East Worthing and Shoreham | 683 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 26,892 |
| North West | 26,332 |
| West Midlands | 25,077 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 22,549 |
| East of England | 18,865 |
| London | 16,763 |
| East Midlands | 14,861 |
| South West | 14,562 |
| North East | 8,653 |
| Wales | 8,637 |
| Scotland | 7,424 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,484 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 9 November 2020. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/552036.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
b423af88e0f4606b… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.