An update on participating in football on Leicester City Council Parks and open spaces.

Following the government’s announcement on 11 September that team sports are exempt from the national ruling on socialisation in groups up to 6. Leicester City Council can now announce that from Saturday 3 October fixtures and training can now return to Council park pitches.

However, this will be subject to teams/clubs agreeing regular contracts for hire with our Sport on Parks team and signing a supplemental guidance document that confirms their compliance with the latest Covid-19 FA guidance. Compliance with this guidance will be monitored on a regular basis. Contracts will be issued to all teams that have agreed fixtures on Council pitches and we will be in touch with them directly.

Where teams/clubs do not agree and sign the required agreements their fixture or training session will not be permitted, and they will be dispersed when challenged by Police or park wardens.

For clubs that train on Council pitches but do not play fixtures they are advised to contact the Council at sportonparks@leicester.gov.uk to sign the supplemental guidance document. This document should be passed on to team managers who are requested to keep a copy of this document with them during the session, as proof that approval for access to the pitches has been granted.

Pavilions will be made available for fixtures but on a toilet only basis and all pavilions have been issued with Covid secure certificates.

The 3 October has been chosen to allow the Council’s staff sufficient time to prepare sites for matches. Any training that takes place on a park prior to this date will need to do so within a group of 6 with social distancing observed during the session.

Please also note that it is only participation in football through a club that is exempt from the ‘Rule of 6’. Before and after any football activity participants are required to observe this rule. Spectators (including parents/guardians or carers) are required to observe this rule at all times.

The measures outlined here apply to organised team sport through a sports club or similar organisation that can adhere to Covid-19 FA guidance. Informal football is still not allowed in groups greater than six and social distancing needs to be observed at all times in this instance. Due to the popularity of ball courts and the difficulty in ensuring these measures are observed, all Council ball courts will remain closed.

While Leicester City Council is looking forward to welcoming football to return to Council pitches, we would like to remind all teams and clubs that it is only through cooperation and adherence to latest Covid-19 FA guidance that football can be participated in the City. Any non-adherence will likely mean that future fixtures will not be permitted for that given team or club and could even result in the football being withdrawn from City Council pitches in its entirety.