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PSV opens up Philips Stadion to the public

Dutch Eredivisie football club PSV Eindhoven is opening up Philips Stadion for fans to visit during the day, free of charge.

From next Monday, the stadium will be open for fans to take their lunch to eat in the stands, check out the pitch or take photos. The ground will be open from 10am to 4pm every day, with the exception of Sundays.

PSV will open entrance 20 of the stadium for fans to visit freely. A limited number of fans will be permitted at any time, in line with COVID-19 guidelines.

PSV said “everyone who has missed visiting football stadiums” because of the pandemic is invited to stop by Philips Stadion.

Frans Janssen, commercial director at PSV, said: “From the great interest in signing the condolence register for Willy van der Kuijlen (PSV’s record goal scorer who passed away last month), among other things, the club has noticed that many supporters feel the need to go to Philips Stadion and visit PSV.

“It fits with the open and transparent nature of PSV to offer supporters that opportunity. That is why we invite everyone to come in through the back door – entrance 20 – as usual here in the south.”

Fans returned to the Eredivisie last month as part of the Netherlands’ test events for the reopening of the sports and entertainment sector during COVID-19. Supporters were allowed to attend in limited numbers during round 30 of the Eredivisie season on April 23-25, before a delay in government legislation forced the suspension of fans attending games.

In March, the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) used a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier to trial fan attendance. The Netherlands’ game against Latvia was watched by 5,000 fans at Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam, which represented the largest test event to date held under the Fieldlab Events banner.

Image: Michielverbeek/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size