Just in time for the Allsvenskan season to start last year, the pandemic came and the team had to play the rest of the year in front of empty stands.
Now in the spring, it has been announced that some spectators would be allowed already for the premiere matches, but the restrictions have been extended, so it is still unclear when spectators can be admitted to the matches again.
The Football Association has planned for the team to be allowed to let in around 15 percent of the number of seats to begin with.
Johan Schollin is head of security and events at IFK Norrköping and says that this would mean between 1,000 and 1,500 spectators in Norrköping:
- We will prioritize those who have annual passes and maybe raffle off tickets to the matches in that case and make sure that everyone who has annual passes can at least see a match.
The team is affected
Rikard Norling is IFK's new coach and he says that the audience can influence the result in matches, that a team that, for example, is below in the final minutes of the match can get a huge boost from the pressure from the stands.
IFK's shooter king Christoffer ”Totte” Nyman also hopes that it will soon be possible to let in spectators, hear in the segment above what he has to say about what it has been like to play a year without an audience.