Schippers: “Looking forward to having our fans back”

Borussia’s chief executive Stephan Schippers and authorised officer Guido Uhle discuss the fans’ return to BORUSSIA-PARK for the first home game of the Bundesliga season against Union Berlin.

Mr. Schippers, more than 10,000 fans will be at the game tomorrow against 1. FC Union Berlin in BORUSSIA-PARK. How much are you all looking forward to the first home game of the new season? 

Stephan Schippers: We’re all so excited to be able to welcome more than 10,000 fans back to BORUSSIA-PARK tomorrow – that’s the whole club, the team and the fans. Obviously we would like to be able to have a full stadium for our first home game of the new season. The match against Union Berlin on Saturday won’t be the football experience that we all want or that that we’re used to in BORUSSIA-PARK. But it’s just not possible due to the conditions imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic. We have to accept that as it is. We’ve developed certain measures in close cooperation with the local authorities and the public health department to allow fans to return – the health of those attending is the greatest priority. So that the measures can be implemented successfully, we need the support of the fans.

In what way?

Schippers: There’ll be some restrictions when visiting the stadium. We’re asking people, for example, to arrive at the ground earlier. People will need to keep their distance as well as wear a face covering throughout the visit. There will also be a ban on alcohol in the whole stadium. We don’t want to have any of those measures in place, but they mitigate risks and are an important step on the way to normality. We ask our fans for their understanding.

Guido Uhle:  It’s the same for our partners and sponsors. We’re delighted that we can welcome some of them back to the stadium on Saturday. We know that their visit to the stadium will be different to normal; there are also measures in place in hospitality to minimise the risks. We’re pleased that, despite the restrictions, we can count on the support of lots of sponsors and partners at the first home game of the new season.

Schippers: We’d like to put on record our thanks to all fans, sponsors and partners for dealing with this situation together with us.  And thanks for their support at hopefully the first win of this new, extraordinary season.