Not only has professional football already returned to Croatia but soon we will have the full atmosphere as fans will once again be allowed in the stadiums.

The Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) has confirmed the return of spectators to sports stadiums from mid-June. The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, confirmed on HRT's morning program "Good Morning Croatia" that competitions with spectators can be held in the open air from June 12 or 14, with an epidemiological framework that will be published soon.

“From June 12 or 14, competitions will start with spectators in the open air, of course with an epidemiological framework” said Capak and with one statement brought a moment of joy to the thousands of football fans up and down the country.

It would be logical that everyone welcomed her with enthusiasm, that both HNS and clubs opened the champagne and celebrated the "return to normal". However, it seems that the Croatian Football Association were a bit surprised. They expected the fans to be able to return to the stands by the end of the season, but not as soon as by the end of this week. According to the new regulations, the next round of the Croatian national league could be played in front of fans.

“We have not received any official decision, we do not know at this time what the new measures would be, how many spectators are allowed at the stadium and from what date the exact decision is applied. Only when we officially receive this decision and the measures under which the audience will be able to go to the stands, only then will we be able to say something more about it as well as the date when we will start playing with spectators,” commented the association.

Whilst many football associations across Europe are still waiting for their leagues to restart after the Covid-19 pandemic, Croatia has gone one step further and will start to allow spectators into the stadiums.

The model that will be used to allow supporters into the stadiums isn’t yet clear, however it could be based on some of the countries that have already allowed fans back on the terraces. In Serbia 1,000 fans are allowed in the stands with a 1-metre space between each fan, in Greece 20 percent of the capacity of the stadium can be used, in Russia 10 percent and in the Czech Republic a maximum of 500 supporters per match are allowed.