Uefa Super Cup: Windsor Park to be at 70% capacity for final in 11 August

Approximately 1,000 fans watched Linfield's Champions League qualifier at Windsor Park on 13 July

Up to 13,000 fans will attend the Uefa Super Cup between Chelsea and Villareal at Windsor Park in Belfast on 11 August.

With the venue allowed to operate at 70% of its maximum capacity, it will be the biggest crowd to attend a sporting event in Northern Ireland since before the first lockdown in March 2020.

The decision was made after talks between the Irish FA, Uefa and the NI Executive, who also reached an agreement that travelling Villareal fans will not have to self-isolate.

All spectators will be asked to show proof of double vaccination or provide a negative Covid-19 test on entry.

The game between last season's Champions League and Europa League winners will be held in Belfast as initially planned, after Uefa considered moving the game to Istanbul as a compensation measure after the Champions League final was switched from the Turkish city to Porto because of coronavirus restrictions.

While restrictions have continued to ease through the summer, football crowds in Northern Ireland have yet to exceed 2,000.

More spectators are being allowed back into venues across the island of Ireland with 18,000 fans set to watch gaelic football's Ulster Championship final at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday, although that is just over 20% of the stadium's capacity.

The agreement to allow Villareal fans to travel for the Super Cup final was made on Thursday, when the Executive also announced that people who have been fully vaccinated in the EU or the US will not need to self-isolate when entering Northern Ireland from Monday.