Football: Coronavirus

(asked on 25th May 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May 2021 to Question 2177, what physical evidence those attending the FA Cup Final in Wembley on 15 May 2021 were required to show to the NHS evidencing a negative covid-19 test result before they received their text or email granting them admission to that event; how the event organisers validated those results before attendees were admitted to the stadium; what records are held to confirm that all those who were granted entry had tested negative for covid-19; and how many people were not granted entry because they were not able to prove that they were covid-19 negative.


Answered by
Nigel Huddleston Portrait
Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 15th June 2021

Admission of participants to Event Research Programme events—including the FA Cup final—is, and has been, subject to evidence of a negative Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test result for Covid-19, generally carried out in person at an Asymptomatic Test Site (ATS) either on the day, or on the day before, an event.

Following taking a test, participants receive a text or email from NHS Test and Trace which they need to present to staff at each event in order to gain entry. A negative LFD test result, taken within the timeframe specified, is required for entry, and results are validated by the event organisers before ticket-holders are admitted to the venue. Entry is denied to those that cannot provide evidence of a negative test result.

Pre-event communications inform attendees that ID checks can take place upon entry, and spot photo ID checks have taken place to check that names on negative tests match ID.

Event organisers only hold the standard data required for ticket purchasing and processing. The personal data that Government collects includes first name, last name, address, date of birth, postcode, and email address.

Event organisers send a list of all individuals who attend an event to Public Health England (PHE), using secure transfer methods. Attendee information—including an attendee’s self-reported name, date of birth, sex, and full address—is linked to NHS number, and the NHS number is then used to link to a testing dataset; this allows testing data to be obtained for the purposes of the research study conducted by PHE, more details of which can be found on GOV.UK. The aim of this study is to provide evidence on the feasibility of pre-event rapid antigen testing with LFDs in mitigating the risk of Covid-19 transmission amongst spectators, participants, or audiences.

Any positive tests are reported through NHS Test and Trace, with contact tracing undertaken to ascertain details of activity during the day of the event, including travel, seating, and activity at the venue.

Records are not kept of attendees who are denied entry to an event for not providing evidence of a negative test result. The research findings from the first phase of pilots of the Event Research Programme will be published on GOV.UK shortly.

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