Austrian authorities to allow up to 10,000 fans to attend Super Eagles friendlies next month

AUSTRIAN authorities have revealed that they may allow as many as 10,000 fans to attend the Super Eagles' friendly games taking place on October 9 and 13 at the Jacques Lemans Arena in the southern town of Sankt Veit an der Glan in Carinthia State.

With there being a Fifa international window next month, the Eagles will play the Desert Foxes of Algeria and the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia as part of their preparations for the 2021 African Cup of Nations and 2022 World Cup qualifiers. With Covid-19 restrictions will very much in place though, it had been feared that no fans would be allowed to attend the game.

However, it is now believed that fans might be allowed into both games with the Austrian government giving room for a maximum 10,000 fans to watch matches in the country as the country relaxes its coronavirus restrictions. Locally, in the Austrian league, only home fans are allowed to attend matches, with away fans barred for now..

Austria Bundesliga head Christian Ebenbauer said: “Football thrives on emotions, not only on the pitch but also on the stands. So it wasn’t an easy decision for clubs to take, to allow as many home fans as possible and to do without visiting clubs’ fans during the coronavirus restrictions.”

Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has invited 25 players to prosecute both games, which will be the first time the team is getting together this year. Nigeria's last international was a friendly against Brazil in Singapore in October, which ended 1-1.