After 266 days, the long wait is over and football fans will finally arrive at the stadium across the country tonight.
The ground has been empty since football was suspended on March 13 due to a corona virus infection, but a total of about 10,000 fans will be allowed in six games in the EFL tonight.
It may only be a small number of visitors now, but it feels like a big moment, and on the day the UK became the first country in the world to approve a corona virus vaccine, there was little light at the end of what was a long, dark tunnel.
With a kick-off scheduled for GMT at 7:45 pm, Don Gilpatrick will be in The Valley to keep you refreshed on an important day in English football.
Live updates
There are no fans at Wimbledon despite the London Tier 2 verdict
AFC Wimbledon will play Peterborough United at home tonight – but they did not expect to host supporters at the new stadium on Blow Lane until next year. Dance played its first match at the newly built house last month, but the stadium is unfinished, still under the administration of contractors and the club has not yet issued safety certificates to fans. They hope to hold one of the two required test events with fans at a home match in January, but CEO Joe Palmer has warned that more substantial work needs to be done before they can even hold a small number of spectators.
How would the experience be different?
Charlton has released guidelines for attending fans
Tonight is one of six games in the Valley of the EFL that fans will attend. Elsewhere, supporters will return to Luton v Norwich and Wycombe v Stoke at Championship, Shrewsbury v Agrington in League One and at League Two, Carlisle v. Salford and Cambridge v Mansfield. But we will focus on events in SE9.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of an important day in English football, fans are flocking to the capital to watch the Charlton vs MK Dance in the Valley.
