SV Werder Bremen becomes sixth Bundesliga club to open its doors
Joining Frankfurt, Köln, Leipzig, and both capital clubs, the Werderaner declared on Sunday that they would welcome fans back to the Weserstadion.
Senators in the German city-state of Bremen officially endorsed a plan by their local football club to allow up to 8,500 spectators through the gate in SV Werder Bremen's opening Bundesliga match next weekend. Bremen's arrangement was very much indicative of the politics of the region. The club worked in close conjunction with its fiercely independent legislature to gain approval for the concept.
"We are very pleased with this result," SV President Dr. Hubertus Hess-Grünewald said on Sunday. He noted that the approval came courtesy of "very constructive exchanges" with both "the Bremen authorities" and "the Bremen body politic". The president explicitly thanked the club's public partners for "providing us with the proper vision to prepare for the match next weekend.
Further details of Bremen's hygiene concept will be released on Monday. It was conveyed that the fans permitted to fill the Weserstadion to 20 percent capacity will consist almost exclusively of season ticket holders. Tens of thousands of diehard Werder supporters purchased season passes this season in spite of the fact that it remained unclear whether they could attend matches. Slots will be raffled among them.
Hertha BSC have received clearance for an audience of up to 4,000 in their second round opener on September 25th. Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Köln announced their intentions to let in a large number of fans yesterday. With Leipzig also planning to permit supporters through the turnstiles and 1. FC Union Berlin standing ready to repeat its successful experiment involving some 4,000 fans from an earlier friendly the number of Bundesliga clubs preparing for thousands of visitors now stands at six.
"Even if this is just the beginning, this counts as an important signal that we can trust ourselves to find ways to live amid the pandemic," Dr. Hess-Grünewald concluded.