Haringey Council assisted Tottenham Hotspur in helping to provide additional testing for supporters who are attending the Carabao Cup Final today against Manchester City.
The event at Wembley Stadium is a pilot of new arrangements following the Government’s Roadmap out of Lockdown, assessing how major events can reopen safely to the public as restrictions ease and fans must take a lateral flow COVID-19 test at a designated site – not a home test – in the 24 hours before the game. The match will be attended by 8,000 fans, of which 2,000 tickets have been allocated to Spurs supporters. To facilitate this LFD testing requirement, Haringey Council laid on extra testing capacity and you do not need to book a test.
This took place at the Tottenham Community Sports Centre - opposite the Tottenham Stadium - yesterday and will also take place today (Sunday). The Tottenham Community Sports Centre will be open from 8am - 3pm today to facilitate fans accessing LFD testing.
The lateral flow test centre at Alexandra Palace will be open as usual from 10am to 6pm on both days. Following taking their test, fans will be required to bring proof of a negative result, either a text or an email from the NHS, with their ticket, to be permitted into Wembley for the game.
In addition, fans have been asked to take a take two PCR tests, which are designed to show if someone showing coronavirus symptoms currently has the virus. Both tests should be taken at home, the first before the match, and the second five days afterwards. Fans who get tickets for the final will be told how to apply for the PCR tests, which will be free.
Dr Will Maimaris, Haringey’s Director of Public Health said: “It’s great to see major events such as the Carabao Final being piloted, enabling fans to return to the terraces after a prolonged period of absence. We all want to return to doing the things we enjoy and have missed over the past year.
“Although we appreciate that the required PCR and LFD testing arrangements puts extra effort on fans, I am sure we can all agree that it’s a price worth paying to ensure that these events can be attended by the public safely. We are very happy to facilitate easy access to testing for ticket holders and hope that many will avail of it when picking up their tickets at Tottenham Hotspurs.”
