Town are taking the first steps towards facilitating the return of fans to Portman Road.

Earlier today, prime minister Boris Johnson said he hoped some supporters will be able to attend games from October providing the right safety measures are in place.

The Blues, along with other clubs, have been sent an 84-page document by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) outlining what would be required for fans to be admitted.

The return will be staged with it possible that numbers initially may be even more limited than previous reports suggesting stadia could be 25 per cent or one-third full.

Currently, Town have a little under 9,000 season ticket holders with Portman Road's capacity these days just short of 30,000. It may be that only a percentage of those season ticket holders will be allowed to attend in the early stages.

Previously reported proposals aimed at making grounds safer for fans are only one in three seats being filled, a ban on away support, toilets being closed at half-time and refreshments - potentially including alcoholic drinks - being brought to fans in their seats to avoid numbers congregating on concourses.

“We are just beginning to get an idea of what will be needed for us to have supporters back at Portman Road,” club secretary Stuart Hayton told the official site.

“We will be working closely with the police and our other safety advisors to implement what is needed at the stadium on matchday.

“It’s going to present challenges for us all - the club and supporters - and unless circumstances change rapidly in the country with the coronavirus, it looks certain to be a phased return of supporters.

“Obviously we will led by Government advice on that but the most important aspect from our point of view is that, yes, we want as many fans as possible back at Portman Road watching football matches, but the health and welfare of our supporters - and our staff - will always be our main priority.”

The Blues squad are set to return to training at Playford Road - also under a strict safety regime - on Tuesday but with the season’s start date still to be confirmed, although September 12th appears likely as things stand.

Photo: TWTD

KiwiBlue2 added 00:45 - Jul 18 How accurate and effective has 'government advice' been to date? I urge everyone to err on the side of caution and really minimise risk as the side effects of the virus can be nasty, better to avoid it all together......
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Ipswichtown4life added 03:11 - Jul 18 Not gonna lie, I'm from rep of Ireland and boris is a simpleton... He allowed situations to happen, he has no clue what's going on... Ireland right now is dealing with it alot better than boris is, regardless if he got it or not... I don't believe he did.. The guy is a moron... Ye deserve better
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Wooly74 added 08:42 - Jul 18 Always nice to get advice from the Irish 🤔🤦‍♂️ Stick to worrying about your own corrupt government pal and to the football, it could have been much worse, we could have had the Irish loving Corbyn in power and he couldn't lead a Duck to water!
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Razor added 10:48 - Jul 18 Surely all 9000 season ticket holders could be allowed in----plus 1000 more from a ballot so everybody has a chance? Or is this a sly way to boost season ticket sales!!
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Orraman added 11:39 - Jul 18 The proposal is to bring drinks to the fans in their seats and then close the toilets at half time!!!! Hold on to that if you can. It will be like the bad old days in the 1950's when fans used to go to matches with their own screwtop bottle to drink from then use the empty to pee in before carefully tipping it out on the step in front to avoid too much splashback. Well that's how we did it in Scotland but you might have been more civilised down here.

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Northstandveteran added 11:57 - Jul 18 Yeah, a bit easier if you're wearing a kilt Orraman. I'm most impressed that you managed to fit your bagpipe in a screw top bottle though. Was that made possible by the cold Scottish wind blowing up your skirt?
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delias_cheesy_flaps added 13:43 - Jul 18 I won't be back until Lambert has gone!
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Bert added 20:00 - Jul 18 Our RoI based fan may be right that Boris has not done particularly well in leading the UK's efforts but come on he did have COVID. That said the game's administrators are about as woeful as this Government in making decisions with clarity.
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TractorRob added 09:32 - Jul 19 How can the league start in Sept when fans (only about a third) will not be in allowed in until October at the earliest. This will not work for the clubs that refused to complete the season as they could not afford to play without a crowd.
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1RWR added 08:29 - Jul 20 Ipswichtown4life: You haven't got a bloody clue have you.
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