Aberdeen permitted expanded capacity for UEFA Conference League match

Pittodrie will have more than five and a half thousand for the visit of BK Hacken. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Aberdeen have been granted an expanded capacity for the visit of FC Hacken to Pittodrie next week.

Under Scottish Government rules, stadia can accept up to 2000 supporters – but more subject to application and approval.

The Dons’ bid for a larger spectator base for the UEFA Conference League qualification game has been granted by Aberdeen City Council, allowing 5665 fans through the turnstiles at a one-metre social distance arrangement.

Earlier this week Rangers expressed the Scottish champions’ disappointment that Ibrox would be less than four per cent full for the friendly against Arsenal with only 2000 allowed on Saturday – the same figure permitted at Celtic Park for the visit of Preston North End the same day.

Both are expected to seek larger admittance for forthcoming games with Rangers due to welcome European giants Real Madrid later this month and Celtic in Champions League qualifiers against FC Midtjylland.

Some 12,000 football fans were allowed to attend the Euro 2020 matches at Hampden last month and Murrayfield hosted more than 16,000 for the British Lions’ match with Japan on June 26.

And after successfully applying for 3665 additional supporters to the Dons’ match, club chairman, Dave Cormack, said tickets would be sold on a first-come, first-served basis to season-ticket holders.

He added: “This is a major step in the right direction and we’re grateful to the local authority for working closely with us to get to this stage.

“Ideally, we wanted to be able to accommodate all our season-ticket members. However, 5,665 represents 73% of the 7,800 season tickets sold to date. Based on our previous percentages of season-ticket members take-up (55% to 60%) and the fact some have indicated they are not ready to attend games yet, we believe we’ll be able to accommodate all who want to attend.

“Every supporter will require proof of a negative lateral flow test, which we believe is a price worth paying to demonstrate, more than any other similar event in Scotland has done so far, that we as a club care about safety and implementing the highest standards possible.

“I’d like to reiterate the amazing efforts of our stadium manager and operations team in getting us to this point and assure you that we’ve done everything, within our control, to get as many fans back safely.”

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