Chelsea and Manchester City fans attending Champions League final ‘must travel in a club bubble’
Any Manchester City or Chelsea fans hoping to make the most of their trip to Porto for the Champions League will have to forget those plans after a Portuguese politician outlined they will be in a bubble and in the country for less than 24 hours.
Manchester City and Chelsea fans will be descending on Porto on May 29 after UEFA confirmed on Thursday that the Estadio do Dragao will be new venue for this year’s showpiece, instead of Covid-stricken Istanbul.
The sunny climes of Portugal may be enticing to fans from England but anybody travelling for the game will come and return on the same day, says Minister of State Mariana Vieira da Silva.
The Estadio do Dragao will host this year’s Champions League final but Manchester City and Chelsea fans can’t to explore the area as they’ll be in a 24-hour strict bubble in and out of Porto
Chelsea and Man City fans celebrated their fantastic semi-final triumphs last week. They are now destined for Portugal, after the Champions League final on May 29 was moved
‘People who come to the Champions League final will come and return on the same day, with a test done, in a bubble situation, that is, on charter flights, with trips to a waiting area,’ she said.
‘Then they will go to the stadium and then to the airport, being in national territory less than 24 hours, in a bubble stay and with mandatory tests, done, in principle, before getting on the plane.’
City and Chelsea will each be provided with 6,000 tickets for their fans.
Vieira da Silva said that the local health authority was in charge of selecting seats for fans to ensure social distancing and that tickets were non-transferable.
Fans who travelled to Porto to enjoy the occasion without going to the stadium were not subject to the same restrictions Vieira da Silva added.
Mariana Vieira da Silva said on Thursday that fans travelling will be in Porto for less than a day
‘Obviously those coming by plane (to be in Porto while the match is on but do not actually go the stadium) will comply with the established rules and security measures will be put in place as happened in Lisbon last year.’
She said the restrictions put in place were to ensure that COVID-19 rates remain low in Portugal.
The announcement will be a blow to Porto’s hotel and hospitality industry who would have been hoping to cash in on English fans enjoying a long weekend in the city.
Manchester City said on their website that the club would be ‘offering qualifying supporters an official day trip travel package from Manchester to Porto. Further information will be provided to supporters as soon as possible.’
Daily covid cases in Portugal are similar to the UK, with both much lower than Turkey. Poland, where the Europa League final will be played is also shown in the graphic. Source: Our World in Data/ John Hopkins University
Manchester City and Chelsea will face off in the fixture, which was set to take place in Istanbul
