They've been waiting for this for six months. This Saturday (7 p.m.), against Paris FC, FC Chambly spectators will once again be able to attend a meeting of their team "at home", during the first day of Ligue 2. It will again be at the Pierre-Brisson stadium de Beauvais, where the Oise club took up residence until the end of the calendar year. But the event will this time be framed by very strict health measures, the Covid-19 crisis requires, compiled in a specification of 57 pages drawn up by the Professional Football League (LFP).
Wearing a mask will be compulsory for everyone, including the technical staff and the substitutes, the latter being confined to the stands. Only coaches escape this rule. “There will also be directions of movement in the enclosure, at the counters, refreshments or to reach his place, says Marius Delaunay, the Stadium manager. The spectators will have to wash their hands with hydroalcoholic gel on arrival, and two agents will travel around the stadium with a bottle of gel. There will also be toilet staff to manage access. At the end, the evacuation of the stadium will be done block by block. "
The club will know the identity of all persons entering the stadium. “We must be able to give them to the Regional Health Agency if it asks us, blows Marius Delaunay. That's why we encouraged supporters to buy their tickets online, upstream. It will be a great time saver for them. "In order to respect social distancing, a seat will be left free between each group of spectators who have ordered together, knowing that an order cannot exceed ten tickets.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people expected
If we add the unit purchases, it is therefore impossible to know the occupancy rate of the Pierre-Brisson stadium on such a meeting since it depends directly on the number of vacant places, very difficult to anticipate. In accordance with government directives, the meeting cannot accommodate more than 5,000 people, but this bar was never reached last season. Internally, we expect an attendance of between 1,500 and 2,000 spectators, far from the 3,000 average for the past financial year. “Some are still probably afraid of the virus, even if we try to reassure them, slips the Stadium manager. They know that the conditions will be special, that the access time to the stadium will be longer, which perhaps discourages others. And we are in August… ”
So many elements that did not affect subscribers. The club recorded 402 on Thursday around 4 p.m., against 416 last season on the first day. Another unchanged phenomenon: the number of security guards (68), volunteers (50) and medical staff (12) will be the same as usual, despite the reduced attendance. "We simply made rescuers aware of the fact that with wearing a mask, discomfort could increase," warns Marius Delaunay. On the other hand, the League does not require the taking of temperature. The LFP also did not impose any particular measure on Chambly, despite the size of its enclosure, which is one of the most modest in Ligue 2 with 6,500 seats.
In front of the PFC, the club will take the opportunity to launch a new tool. Via its application, which was launched last week, spectators will be able to benefit from the click and collect, in order to buy food and drink online in the stadium. They will be notified when their order is ready by a notification on their smartphone. “This makes it possible to fluidify the flow at the refreshment stalls,” explains Marius Delaunay. We had decided to put it in place no matter what and, given the circumstances, it came at the right time ... "