Leyton Orient owner warns London going into Tier 3 would be ‘devastating’ for capital’s football clubs

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Leyton Orient owner Nigel Travis has warned London going into Tier 3 would be “devastating” for supporters of the capital’s clubs.

At present, London is in Tier 2 of the Government’s Covid-19 tier system - meaning sports team can host 2,000 supporters on a match day.

There are fears, however, that London could be heading into Tier 3 - which would mean that once again crowds are no longer able to attend sporting venues.

That would have a financial implication for clubs, but Travis has explained the real damage would be to the mental health of fans that have only just been able to return to grounds.

“I was somewhat concerned to see various texts about how London could be going to go into Tier 3,” Travis told Standard Sport.

“That is concerning and we obviously hope it doesn’t happen. The [financial] implications are really no different. Our losses have increased by £2million because of coronavirus.

“So financially it doesn’t make a lot of difference, but it will be devastating to suddenly have the fans go away again.

“One of our sponsors on our shirts is Mind, the mental health charity, and our streaming service plays their commercial every game.

“Mental health is one of the things that has been a serious factor during the whole lockdown. People have been stuck in flats. People have been isolating from the rest of their family.

“I am sure mental health has got a lot more difficult and a lot more widespread - impacting young and old people.


“Football is a release for a lot of people and it is fine watching the game on your computer, or the TV, but it is not like being in the stadium. People need that release.”

Leyton Orient have the mental health charity, Mind, on their shirts.
Leyton Orient

Leyton Orient are hosting fans for the first time on Tuesday night when they take on fellow League Two side Bristol Rovers.

Under Government guidelines, Orient could have welcomed back 2,000 supporters but are choosing to admit 1,000 before building up the attendance.

“We are actually going to do a video tonight, so people can see what it is like,” Travis added.

“It is a bare-bones operation, so there will be no concessions. It is all going to be focused on making sure people are safe.

“The mandate throughout the whole club is safety, so we are working on that and as far as I am concerned that is the No1 goal.

“We are going to be consistent with the Premier League in that masks are required the whole time you are there.

“At the end of the day, professional football is about players playing football and fans watching the games.

“We have missed the major ingredient, so it is going to be delightful to have our fans back cheering on the team.

“The players have missed it. Everyone has missed it. It is hopefully a move in the direction back to normality.”  

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