São Paulo authorizes 12,000 spectators for Brazil/Argentina World Cup qualifying match

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – São Paulo authorized on Tuesday (24) the presence of 12,000 spectators for the match to be played on September 5 between Brazil and Argentina for the sixth match of the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Fans attending the match at the Neo Química Arena stadium in São Paulo will be required to present a negative Covid-19 test performed 48 hours before the event. Still, no certificate of vaccination against the disease will be required.

After the match, all participants will be retested and monitored for 15 days.

The government Sports Secretariat informed that the match is considered a test event for the future permission of fans to attend matches in local soccer stadiums, where presence has been forbidden since the beginning of the pandemic.

According to the authority, the entry of the public into the stadium takes place at a time when the occupation of beds in intensive care Units of São Paulo is below 40%, and vaccination is progressing in the state, where at least 74% of the population has received at least one dose.

Brazil’s match against Argentina is the second of three matches in 9 days, in the South American qualifiers.

The national team will face Chile in Santiago on September 2, while on September 9, they will take on Peru in the northeastern Brazil city of Recife.