The Government granted special permission for the football tournament held by the Estonian and Latvian national teams

Stenbock House, 8 June 2021 - The government has granted an exception for the Baltic Cup game between the Estonian and Latvian national teams that is held at the A. Le Coq Arena on 10 June, allowing a total of 1,000 people to attend as participants and spectators.

‘This is an important game for Estonia and for football because if we win, then we will win the traditional Baltic Cup, which we have been waiting on for 83 years. In order to give the home team extra support, we have decided to allow 1,000 people to enter the stadium as spectators instead of 250,’ said Minister of Culture Anneli Ott. ‘The 14,000-seat national stadium is large enough to accommodate an additional 750 spectators and ensure that they are adequately dispersed,’ Ott added.

The Estonian Football Association submitted an application to the Ministry of Culture and the Health Board requesting that up to 1,000 people be allowed to attend the match, including participants, organisers and spectators, who would be divided between four different zones and would not come into contact with each other. The people involved with the match are divided as follows: up to 140 team members and people directly involved in the organisation of the game, up to 60 media representatives and up to 800 spectators. The organiser of the competition has confirmed their readiness to take the necessary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Under the current restrictions, outdoor sports competitions are only allowed if the number of participants and spectators does not exceed 250. However, from 11 June, up to 1,000 people, including participants and spectators, will be allowed to take part in outdoor sports competitions. Thus, the conditions agreed by the government would be applied for the Estonia-Latvia football match four days before their general application.