Small crowds for 10 EFL fixtures this weekend

As part of the government's pilot schemes, up to a maximum of 1,000 fans will be allowed to attend 10 different English Football League games this weekend.

With the EFL and the government in discussion regarding a return for more supporters from 1 October, it has been confirmed that a small number of spectators wlll be able to watch a mix of fixtures this coming weekend: three in the Championship, four in League One and three in League Two.

They will be the first fans in attendance at an EFL match since March due to precautions put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The following games, all on Saturday, have been selected (15:00 kick-off unless stated):

Championship

Luton Town v Derby County
Middlesbrough v AFC Bournemouth
Norwich City v Preston North End
 

League One

Blackpool v Swindon Town
Charlton Athletic v Doncaster Rovers
Hull City v Crewe Alexandra
Shrewsbury Town v Northampton Town
 

League Two

Carlisle United v Southend United (13:00 BST)
Forest Green Rovers v Bradford City
Morecambe v Cambridge United

"It's encouraging that we are in a position to move forward with the next phase of the pilot programme and give a small number of our clubs the opportunity to welcome back up to a 1,000 fans this week," said EFL chairman Rick Parry.

"The health and wellbeing of supporters and their wider communities remains the priority, but as we showed at Cambridge [in a crowd pilot at 8 September's EFL Trophy game], social distancing can be applied safely.

"The requirement to welcome spectators back through turnstiles has not diminished in any way, the financial challenges facing EFL clubs have been explained on numerous occasions, they are substantial and a problem that requires immediate solutions."

Club statement clarifying Luton Town's position with the EFL's 'return of fans' pilot programme.

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— @LutonTown (@LutonTown) September 16, 2020