Premier League moves matchweek 37 to accommodate 10k home fan attendance

The Premier League announced yesterday that it is pushing back the penultimate match week of the season in order to accommodate in-person attendance of 10,000 fans at home stadiums.

According to the Guardian, the government has set a date of May 17 to begin lifting restrictions on attendance at sporting and other events to 25% capacity or 10,000 people. The Premier League has responded by shifting the dates for matchweek 37, the next to last weekend of fixtures, from May 15-16 to May 18-19. Doing so will allow all Premier League teams to experience one home match in front of their faithful fans.

This would affect Tottenham’s home match against Aston Villa, currently scheduled for Saturday, May 15, meaning it would instead take place on either Tues. May 18 or Wed. May 19. The League has not announced plans when rescheduled matches will take place, but said the revised schedule would be released in due course.

Having fans safely back in Premier League stadiums is unquestionably a good thing, provided the current tack of COVID-19 infections and vaccinations continue to head in a positive direction. It does mean, however, that Spurs are set to play yet another midweek match in the latter part of the season. That’s a (very) minor bummer for people who like to watch Tottenham matches, especially those of us overseas.

The government has stated that they hope to allow “significant numbers” back in sporting and other events by June 21.