AFL to welcome back fans as early as this weekend as one state premier gives the green light to 2,000 spectators
- AFL fans will be allowed to attend games in South Australia from this weekend
- Premier Steven Marshall said 2,000 spectators can attend local Adelaide derby
- Another 240 fans allowed in private boxes at Saturday's game at Adelaide Oval
- AFL stadiums elsewhere in Australia though not been given green light to reopen
AFL fans will be allowed to attend games in South Australia from this weekend, the state's premier has announced.
Premier Steven Marshall said 2,000 spectators can attend the local derby between Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows on Saturday.
An additional 240 fans will be allowed into the Adelaide Oval to use the stadium's private boxes.
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Fans of Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows will be the first in the AFL to be allowed to attend games again, South Australia Premier Steven Marshall announced on Tuesday
Port Adelaide fans attend an AFL game between Port Adelaide and St Kilda in June 2019. 2,000 spectators can attend the local derby between the Power and the Adelaide Crows at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday
Stadiums elsewhere in Australia though have yet to be given the green light by state governments to re-open their doors to fans.
'I think we will be the first place in the country with a significant crowd at an AFL game,' Mr Marshall said on Tuesday.
'Football and crowds are back in South Australia.
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'South Australia, I think, will be the first with a significant number of people at an AFL match and the first time we have had a significant crowd at any sport in Australia for months and months and months.'
SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said Australians had to look at easing gatherings on a case-by-case basis after a 6,000-strong crowd took to the streets of Adelaide on Saturday for a Black Lives Matter rally.
'We need to look at these events for what they are,' he said.
Protesters gather at Adelaide's Victoria Square to demonstrate in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on Saturday
'[The protests] were in response to a horrific event which has ramifications far beyond Adelaide.
'This was a one-off extraordinary event and needed a different set of conditions.'
Mr Marshall will provide further detail on the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in the state on Friday.
It comes as it emerged on Tuesday the federal government is considering 'decreased capacity' for NRL games.
The NSW state government has already ticked off on corporate boxes, for one person per four square metres up to 50 people, being open from this weekend.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said 2,000 spectators can attend the local derby between Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday
However, discussions have begun about opening up the grandstands, with ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys aiming for a July 1 return for fans.
Dr Nick Coatsworth said it would be easier to maintain social distancing in stadiums than protests, which were given the green light over the weekend.
'The important thing of course about the footy is you have a large number of people, like we saw on the weekend with the protests of course, coming together in different parts of the city and then dispersing into the city,' Dr Coatsworth said on the Nine Network.
'You can be a little more controlled in a stadium than you can in a protest.'
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