The Premier League's hopes of selling tickets to games in the early stages of the 2020-21 season could be set for another setback soon.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed plans for fans to return to sports stadiums on Oct. 1 are to be reviewed, after some social gathering restrictions were restored in the UK.
English domestic football returns on Friday, with the first Premier League games set for Saturday, but bosses were confident of ending the days of empty arenas starting next month.
However, it now remains to be seen when exactly the first Premier League fans of the season will be able to pass the turnstiles.
Saturday will however see a maximum of 1,000 spectators at the Women's Super League match between West Ham and Arsenal, and the FA Vase and FA Trophy finals on Sept. 27 in non-league action will follow the same protocol.
In addition, a limited number of fans were allowed in for the World Snooker Championship final last month, won by Ronnie O'Sullivan.
"We will have to revise plans and review our intention to have fans return to stadiums — that doesn't mean we are abandoning it completely, we just need to review it," said the Prime Minister.Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, later said: "Further to the PM's announcement we are reviewing the list of proposed sports pilots ahead of Oct. 1, in light of the increased number of cases. Details of changes will be announced shortly.
"We are keeping under review further easements proposed from Oct. 1 but no changes have been announced today — and we continue to plan for the best.
"As I said on Sunday and the PM confirmed today, work continues round the clock on the moonshot project with the ambition of having audiences back much closer to normal by Christmas."
Chief executive Richard Masters says the Premier League is ready to work with the Government to get fans safely back to games as early as possible, after top-flight sides lost £700m during the suspension for coronavirus measures, in which no fans were able to attend games and matchday revenues were wiped out.
"We are ready, willing and able to be ambitious with our testing as soon as we are able to open our turnstiles," Masters told Sky Sports. "Using the current guidelines we'll be about a quarter full and we want to work over time because the fans are the key missing ingredient from the thing.
"Not having fans in the stadium has serious financial repercussions, not just in the Premier League but throughout football. Every Premier League match contributes around £20m to the local and national economy, so we want to play our part in supporting that national effort.
"There's a perception that the Premier League can continue to sustain losses for a long period of time but it has been very painful for clubs and there are more challenges ahead.
"Last season we lost circa £700m and next season, matchday revenue is about that number again, so the sooner we can get fans back into stadiums the sooner we can reduce that number."
Ahead of the EPL opener pitting defending champions Liverpool against newly-promoted Leeds United at Anfield, local police have asked fans not to populate the stadium's surrounding area.
“As the city prepares for the start of the new football season, we are continuing to remind fans that with games still being held behind closed doors there is no benefit to going to the ground," said Superintendent Paul White of Merseyside Police.
“We are urging fans of both clubs to watch it at home or sensibly in licensed premises.
“We are still in the midst of a pandemic and the risk posed by large gatherings is far too great, especially when it is almost impossible to maintain social distancing.
“If you are planning to go to a bar or pub to watch the game, please plan ahead. Venues are still limiting capacity in order to comply with coronavirus guidelines and many fans will have to book in or risk not getting in, queue up, and ensure social distancing is maintained throughout.”