Safety, masks and "common sense" - what fans need to know ahead of Carlisle Utd test game

THE FINAL PREPARATIONS

It will be the first time fans have been back at Brunton Park since March 10, and Carlisle are continuing to ensure their ground is ready – and safe – for the 1,000 supporters who will watch the Southend game.

Today, that included making certain arrangements so that supporters are clear about what they will see, and where they must go when they are at the ground.

Social distancing and safety is paramount, Blues officials have stressed.

“The priority today has been on signage, sanitiser and directions of travel,” said chief executive Nigel Clibbens.

“We’ve got the spray cans out, we’re putting arrows on floors, taping areas off, putting out-of-use signs on seats and sanitiser out. Those are the three key areas.

“We’ve also got to leave the cleaning of the stadium as close as we can to the game.”

Supporters’ trust CUOSC have been helping with signage in stands, with certain rows and seats off limits due to social distancing requirements.

Work has also been under way at Brunton Park to extend the dug out areas, to create extra social distancing space for the players and staff who normally sit in those areas.

United have been extending the dugout areas to help with social distancing

ADVICE FOR FANS ON MATCH DAY

Nigel Clibbens says the success of the test event will depend on supporters co-operating with certain requirements that are far from what would normally be expected on a match day.

“A lot of it is common-sense,” he said of the game which will kick off at 1pm. “There are things that initially felt really difficult in March but have become almost normal practice. People stay a bit further away from each other – you don’t get a tape measure out, it becomes almost automatic.

“From a fans’ point of view, what we’re saying is – be sensible, don’t all come in a mad rush at 12.55pm; phase it in.

“We’re blessed with a really big site, so there’s chance for people to move about without getting close to each other.

“We have areas for people to stand and wait if they don’t want to go in the stand at a particular moment, so that helps.

“It’s going to be impossible to police people every step of the way from the journey from the front of the road, into their seat, and out again. What we’re trying to do is make it easy.

“We’ll have stewards in place. They’ll be briefed, we’ll have people from CUSG on hand to answer queries, we’re asking people to come in in phases, when it looks like the vomitories [entrances] and exits look fairly empty, and then go in.

“Crucially, once they’re in their spaces inside the stadium, the key message is, avoid moving about. The risk comes from people crossing around each other and what’s called ‘brush-past’.

“Once you’re in your place, stay there, please, as best you can, and if people are moving around, get out of the way if you can. It’s as simple as that.”

WHAT ABOUT MASKS?

Fans must wear face coverings on Saturday - but only at certain times

Supporters should wear face coverings at the ground - but only in certain situations, Nigel Clibbens said.

There is no requirement for fans to wear masks or coverings when the game is under way because supporters should by then be in their socially-distanced seats or terraced areas.

At other times, though, United say it is essential that masks are worn.

Clibbens said: “In terms of face coverings, again we’re trying to keep it really simple.

“We’d recommend everybody wear them all the time, but we’re not going force it and make it mandatory. It is a football match, and we’ve got to have some degree of realism.

“What’s important is that we have the wearing of masks and face coverings where the biggest risk is to people – which is when they’re not socially-distanced, and are crossing and going near each other.

“We do say it’s mandatory and that all fans must wear face coverings when moving about – when they’re waiting in line to get in the stadium and may be in a queue, for example, or when they’re going up the vomitories and out of the exits, and then when they’re walking to their seats or places in the terracing, until they are in their right place.

“At that stage, when they’re in their places and are not going to be moving about, it’s designed to be socially distanced – so at that point they don’t need to wear a face covering, although if they still want to wear one, that's fine.”

TICKETS

The game is open only to 1,000 fans, in line with Government regulations around sporting test events.

Only season-ticket holders are eligible to attend the game, United have stipulated.

The Blues have been selling tickets to season-ticket holders in different areas of the ground consecutively, on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Southend game was not part of the 22-game season-ticket prices recently set by Carlisle, given that it had long been unclear whether fans would be able to watch this particular game.

All stands will be open other than the Waterworks End terrace, and no away fans will be allowed entry.

On the selling of tickets, Nigel Clibbens said: “With the 1,000 limit there’s going to be 800 or so people [of our full number of season-ticket holders] potentially disappointed.

“Some of those may not have been able to attend the game, or may have wanted to wait and see how it goes, but clearly there’s going to be a lot of those who can’t come. That’s inevitable.

“We took the view that, to try and keep it simple, to get on with it and hopefully we can then get past these lower limits as soon as possible. That’s the key.”

Nigel Clibbens says a "common-sense" approach will give Saturday's test event the best chance of succeeding

QUICK PLANNING FOR THE TEST GAME

Carlisle only got the nod on Wednesday that they could host the test event, having requested permission from the EFL.

Clibbens, though, said they have been planning in advance of that decision.

“We’d anticipated what we would do to get 1,000 fans in, and how that would operate – that allowed us to move really quickly,” the director said.

“We had all of that really clear in our minds. The difficulty has been the timing of finding out when we could go ahead.

“We didn’t want to start preparing for 1,000 fans only to find that it wasn’t going to happen. Even this morning we’ve got a team of external cleaners in, staff having to work overtime…all that comes with an extra cost, and if the game then didn’t go ahead that is all wasted effort until the next game.

“We didn’t want to start doing it until we were certain, but we were always ready to go.”

MAKING THE MESSAGE CLEAR

Nigel Clibbens said Carlisle have taken care to communicate in detail to their fans throughout the Covid-19 situation and hopes that will be reflected in a successful test event this weekend.

He said clarity of message to supporters is crucial.

“I recognised this really early on, from the problems the country’s had in terms of trying to get people to do the right thing,” the chief executive said.

“Everybody wants to do the right thing but sometimes they don’t know what it is. They get conflicting messages and it makes it difficult to know what’s right and wrong.

“We recognised early that trying to be clear and having the support of the fans was going to be absolutely crucial.

“We started, if you remember, discussing a fans’ code of conduct very early. We used social media to share some of the messages about what fans would face when they came into the ground in terms of entrances, exits, brushing past each other and so on.

“We had a debate about face coverings really early to try and get people to understand this was going to be a really important thing. I think that stood us in good stead.

“The fans understand it is going to be different, and we’ve all been trying to think about how to do it.

“I’m really confident they get this and they’ll embrace what we’re trying to do because they know the importance of it.

“It has to be a success if we want to get to the next stage.”

THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Carlisle’s game is one of just seven EFL fixtures to be staged as a test event this Saturday.

Three of the 10 originally listed games, at Hull, Luton and Morecambe, will no longer have fans in the ground.

It means there will be even more spotlight on those still hosting home fans, such as the Blues, to ensure things proceed safely and successfully.

Nigel Clibbens said the wider significance of what United are doing is clear, given the need for fans to return to all grounds in order to protect clubs’ finances - but the Blues’ focus is simply on ensuring Saturday’s event works at Brunton Park.

“For us it’s a first stepping stone to getting fans in bigger numbers back,” he said.

“We know how important it is for Carlisle to have more fans than 1,000 and how important it is for the rest of the game.

“We’re just trying to put on the event as safely as possible and implementing the plans we have in place.”

THE LONG-AWAITED RETURN OF UNITED’S FAITHFUL

The financial benefit of having supporters back in grounds is clear – but there are other obvious benefits, says Nigel Clibbens.

The game is a lesser version of itself without the faithful back in the stands and on the terraces, and Saturday will hopefully be a positive step back in the right direction.

“When we didn’t make it to Grimsby all those months ago [when Covid-19 brought football to a halt in March], that happened in a rush; at the start it seemed it might be a short-term thing but within a week or so it looked like a very long thing,” Clibbens said.

“It’s been a rollercoaster. We then thought it might be Christmas, there was talk of it not being until after Christmas, then all of a sudden we’re playing games in August but with no fans.

“I’ve been to all the games [recently]…and football’s about fans. You want to see the games played but without fans it’s not the same in any shape or form.

“Until there’s no fans, you don’t appreciate how big a part fans play in the way teams certainly at League Two level play on the pitch – because they’re closer to the fans, because there are less of them, individuals are more vocal, they can be right up on the touchline.

“Players at this level I think get a real buzz and impetus in their performance from that. I think we might have missed a bit of that.

“I don’t think it’s going to do our team any harm having the backing of our fans shouting for them on Saturday.

“We recognise we talk about everyone playing their part, and I think the wider club’s played its part to help the team by doing everything it can to have some fans here to back them.”

Clibbens says he is looking forward to having fans back in the ground – even those who regularly give the directors the benefit of their views.

Nigel Clibbens says he is looking forward to welcoming fans back tomorrow - even those who give the directors stick!

The chief executive said: “That is absolutely all part of it. I’ve had fans who’ve shouted at me all the time. Sometimes I agree with them, although I can’t say it, and sometimes I disagree.

“I’ve seen them around the town, and I was talking to one fan at the train station last night. He said, ‘I’m in the Paddock, just in front of you…it will be good to see you and shout at you again’.

“This is what it’s about. If you can’t cope with this, and it hurts too much when things go wrong, you’re in the wrong game.

“When it’s not happening, you realise why it’s such a great industry to be a part of. That’s my view.”