Croke Park to host 40,000 fans for All-Ireland finals as crowd increases also confirmed for Ireland's World Cup qualifiers
Crowd numbers at Irish sporting events are set to rise significantly in the coming weeks, with 24,000 fans permitted at the All-Ireland semi-finals, 40,000 at the All-Ireland finals, and 25,000 at the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifiers
Saturday 31 July 2021 10:28, UK
The All-Ireland Hurling and Football Championship finals are set to be played in front of 40,000 fans at Croke Park.
Minister for Sport Jack Chambers has confirmed an increase in supporter numbers for the coming weeks, as crowd restrictions are eased.
24,000 will be permitted at each of the four All-Ireland semi-finals across both codes at the Jones' Road venue, with that number rising to 40,000 for the hurling and football deciders on August 22 and 29 respectively.
Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifiers in September are also set for a boost in crowd numbers, with 25,000 set to attend September's matches with Azerbaijan and Serbia at the Aviva Stadium.
"I am delighted to announce increased attendances for the All-Ireland semi-finals and finals as well as two World Cup Qualifiers," said Chambers.
"This is an important signal of how far we have come as a country. From the start of this process, I stated we wanted to be ambitious around getting supporters back in stadia all around the country and the figures for the upcoming games show that is exactly what is happening."
This weekend, 18,000 fans will be permitted at Croke Park on both Saturday and Sunday, with the Leinster and Ulster football finals, as well as the lower-tier hurling deciders, taking place.
