Hawthorns chief: West Brom are ready to go!

With football has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government, Premier League and EFL are all currently locked in talks in the hope that it can make a safe return in June.

And the football authorities have confirmed – if they are able to resume – all matches will be played behind closed doors without supporters.

There have been concerns among Championship clubs that not all stadia would be suitable to host behind closed doors matches while adhering to the government’s health and safety advice.

Albion, though, believe The Hawthorns is now ready to stage such matches.

“In effect, we’ve been planning for the behind closed doors scenario since the postponement of the Blues game,” said operations director Mark Miles.

“We’ve moved on significantly since then. Obviously, our planning needs to take account of the prevailing guidance and requirements.

“But we’ve looked at who we will need to run the stadium, how to access and exit, social distancing, any relevant testing, personal protective equipment requirements, cleaning before and after – all the elements that you might expect.

“Our plan is to be as efficient as possible to help limit the drain on our front-line services. Medical aid required on site, for example, would come from private operators not the WM Ambulance Service.”

Miles is responsible for all Albion’s facilities and match day operations.

He is also in charge of health and safety and in 2013 became chairman of the National Football Safety Officer Association.

And he said plans have been put in place so that there is limited interaction between people at behind closed doors games.

Media interviews, for example, will be conducted pitchside and at a safe distance. Typically, though, he expects between 200 and 250 people to be inside the stadium for a behind closed doors game.

“It would vary depending on TV coverage,” he said when asked how many people will be at a game. Our stadium is spacious enough to ensure safe distancing. But we will be strictly monitoring access – only those who absolutely need to be inside will be allowed.

“Fortunately, we can have a close look at the Bundesliga this weekend to see how they cope with these requirements. But I am confident we are more than ready to stage the contest should we get the go-ahead.”

While Albion are ready to host matches behind closed doors, the government, EFL are Premier League are still waiting to receive support from the police to allow teams to play at their own stadiums.

The lead police officer on the UK Football Policing Unit, Mark Roberts, has said publicly he believes holding matches at neutral grounds is the only way football can return safely.

Local police forces have to be content that matches will not place a strain on the emergency services during or compromise public health – with there fears fans will turn up at grounds even if they can’t get in.

But a meeting held on Monday, attended by representatives from the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and EFL, has paved the way for the plan to use neutral grounds to be dropped.

It came after Premier League clubs expressed a preference to play behind closed doors in their own stadiums.

As yet, though, there has been n official confirmation teams will be able to play at their own grounds.