It appears that even when National North League games are allowed to have supporters back, it will be home fans only.
The Government have released details about the safe return of supporters in a document: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-phased-return-of-sport-and-recreation/elite-sport-return-to-competition-safe-return-of-spectators
For reference here are the main points:
Core responsibility 1 – ticketing and capacity
● Capacity cap in line with tier restrictions and the venue’s revised safe capacity as calculated using SGSA’s guidance SG02, plus any other determination by relevant local authority bodies (including the Safety Advisory Group)
● Social distancing in seating plans, observed at 2m or 1m+ where the additional mitigations outlined in this guidance are implemented. Family groups / households can be seated without social distancing. There is some flexibility in seating / standing layouts adopted by the venue as long as final configuration is in line with distancing guidance.
● In non-seated venues/areas, additional protocols and physical measures should be in place to maintain a zonal arrangement to avoid groups of spectators mixing
● No travelling away fans, for Competition Venues hosting opposing sides. This is to significantly reduce impacts on transport and the movement of populations between regions.
● Mandatory capture of contact details of Track and Trace purposes, so any individual or group attending can be traced back through the booking system. Clear zoning of venues may support accurate tracing, such a zonal QR codes for different venue areas.
● Spectators should be advised to undertake their own health risk assessment, considering if travelling to, and attending, such an event, is appropriate. This should include following relevant guidance and regulations on travel both domestically and internationally. For example journeys should not be made from tier 3 areas to attend events hosted elsewhere. Age and vulnerability of the spectator should be taken into account. Spectators should not attend if self-isolating, if contacted by Test and Trace to self-isolate or if they have COVID symptoms.
Core responsibility 2 – Pre-event communications and build up
● Test events have shown high levels of compliance from spectators. To build on this, organisers should issue codes of conduct to spectators before the event, mandating for example, strict compliance with social distancing, providing details for Track and Trace, use of the NHS COVID-19 app, responsible use of alcohol, and observing all direction by stewards and from venue signage.
● Most fundamentally, symptomatic people or those who have been instructed to self-isolate, must self-declare and be refused a ticket at point of sale where timely, or, if those factors arise/continue after a ticket purchase, advised that they are prohibited from making the journey to the venue or entering it. Regular messaging to fans and a spectator code of conduct could, for example, support this messaging.
● It should be made clear that any breaches will be treated extremely seriously and result in sanctions, including expulsion, bans, or reporting to the police. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure events happen safely and are permitted to continue.
● Comprehensive staff briefing and training will be key in ensuring that everyone knows their role and responsibility on the day and works effectively and safely together. All the usual operational communications systems should be deployed to uphold public health requirements as well as standard safety good practice.
● All available customer communications channels should be used to ensure spectators know what to expect at an event, and what is expected from them. The environment will feel quite different to start with, but with clear and consistent messaging, spectators and staff alike should easily adapt to the new requirements and enjoy their experience.
Core responsibility 3 – Safe travel to venue
● Spectators should be reminded of the safer transport guidance. They should be actively encouraged to walk or cycle where possible, plan their journey in advance to avoid busy routes and times, sanitise their hands regularly, wear a face covering unless exempt, and make space when travelling.
● Event Organisers should make spectators aware, before they travel, of the latest Safer Travel guidance, including highlighting the mandatory requirement to wear a face covering including explaining who is exempt, and advice on travel between tiers.
● It is imperative that Event Organisers assess the comparative demands that the event places on public transport and engage early and fully with transport providers to ensure sufficient and safe capacity is available.
● All local Safety Advisory Groups (SAG) must have transport representation. This is to ensure they can advise on any adaptations required in order to, for example, protect social distancing, avoid crowding on platforms and at ticket barriers, and provide sufficient time for safe plans to be drawn up. Where the SAG believes there is insufficient capacity to serve the event, the venue should consider providing additional private transport options or limiting ticket sales.
● Local Transport Authorities must have been fully consulted before a final decision is taken to proceed with an event.
● Careful planning and liaison will be required if multiple events require the same transport capacity. This will particularly be the case in large metropolitan areas. Organisers should be open to any essential adaptations as advised in consultation with local Transport Authorities, including revisiting fixture/scheduling plans if necessary.
Core responsibility 4 – Last mile and entry
● It is vital to avoid ‘pinch points’ and crowd congestion given the potential adverse impact on social distancing and reduced transport capacity. Event Organisers have experience in managing these matters, and given the capacity caps, these should be straightforward to address using effective operational planning and live monitoring, but nothing should be left to chance. Plans should be in place to intervene rapidly with action should inadvertent crowding occur.
● Staggering spectator arrival times should be very actively encouraged. This will help control crowd flow at entry and in internal concourses. Extra thought should be put into ways of mitigating surges just before start time / kick off / first race etc. These may include opening gates earlier, providing extra entertainment content on the pitch/course, and big screens etc. Providing pre-event refreshments may assist in line with hospitality guidance. Restricting entry immediately before kickoff may support earlier arrivals but only where safe to do so.
● Face coverings should be mandated indoors and in all covered communal / covered areas including on entry and in concourses, queues, toilets etc. Given the higher risk of transmission associated with singing and shouting, event organisers should remind spectators of this and strongly therefore encourage the use of face coverings in all outdoor spectator settings, including seats/standing points. They are mandatory in all indoor sports venues, in line with wider guidance on indoor spectator events. Singing and shouting is to be discouraged at indoor sports events.
● Ticket holders will be required to confirm on entry that contact details of everyone entering under their booking (if in a group) were correct when submitted and any further information will be provided if required for Track and Trace purposes.
● Health screening on entry will be a matter for the venue. But any screening activity must be designed to uphold social distancing and avoid bottlenecks.
Core responsibility 5 – inside the venue
● Careful planning of crowd flow required as ever, with particular attention paid to any additional requirement for SG02 compliant systems to uphold social distancing
● Consideration of how spectators are directed to their seats, with close proximity face-to-face encounters avoided wherever possible
● Additional facilities, such as hand washing and sanitiser stations, should be provided for spectators, particularly at entry and exit points to the competition venue and in seating/standing areas.
● Special arrangements for areas where queues naturally arise e.g. refreshments, toilets, programme / racecard sales points etc. Important to avoid any queueing activity that would undermine social distancing, particularly at peak times such as half time, between races etc. Momentary breaches as people pass through zones are excluded but should be kept to a minimum.
● Food, drink, and retail concessions can continue to operate subject to SD capacity assessment and following regulations relevant to the venue’s tier of regulations (see below)
● Local authorities may consider whether restrictions on neighbouring licensed premises before/after events would be a necessary additional mitigation
● Venue planning should specifically address how they intend to follow relevant regulations on any alcohol sales in line with hospitality guidance across the entirety of their footprint, and how it may interact with other mitigations in place
● Indoor venues need to take extra care in ensuring adequate ventilation, and uphold wider BEIS good practice on making a venue COVID-secure
● All of the above should be supported by clear and widespread signage to help with customer understanding and compliance
● Staff should be clear about their role in helping to uphold the public health requirements, and should have the confidence to advise spectators respectfully of their responsibilities. As per pre-event customer communications, spectators should be made aware of sanctions in the case of non-compliance.
● If emergency services are present at the venue, all protocols must incorporate any specific operational requirements they may have
● Consider using communications channels at events to promote wider public health messaging
Core responsibility 6 – Departure: Venue, Zone Ex and post-event
● The avoidance of a ‘surge’ moment at the end of the event is vitally important, both in terms of avoiding egress crowding and reducing pressure on transport infrastructure. Event organisers will have a variety of ways of addressing this, with phased exit of blocks / stands and post-event entertainment just a few of the options. The key thing is advance scenario planning and live monitoring of the situation to head off any potential bottlenecks in real time, and capacity planning in line with SG02.
● Effective transport planning is fundamental for the post-event period. Local transport authorities should be satisfied with agreed plans to channel passengers from venues to transport hubs.
● Encourage socially responsible behaviour after the event, reminding spectators that observing public health restrictions within the venue alone will not be enough in helping to reduce the risk of Covid transmission. Indeed, event organisers need ticket holders to uphold their responsibilities on the entire end-to-end customer journey.
● Actively mitigate against end of event transport planning issues