SINGAPORE - Drinks, keropok and curry puffs are not returning to the stands just yet, but the local sports fraternity have welcomed the relaxed guidelines announced by national agency Sport Singapore (SportSG) on Sunday (March 27) allowing for food and beverage (F&B) consumption in stadiums.
The revised rules were part of SportSG's advisory for sport and physical exercise and activity, which was issued three days after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a number of key changes to safety measures as Singapore moves towards a new phase of living with Covid-19.
From Tuesday, consumption of food and drinks is permitted during sporting events in specially designated areas, although doing so in spectator stands is not allowed. Even in the designated areas, fans will have to eat or drink at a fixed position and observe safe management measures (SMMs) such as safe distancing and group-size limits.
Cheering, singing and whistling will also be allowed at spectator events if masks are worn.
This is a significant development for event organisers and fans.
At the Asean Football Federation Championship last December for example, up to 10,000 fans were allowed on each match day at the 55,000 capacity National Stadium and 1,000 at the 6,000-seater Bishan Stadium. Each match day featured up to two games and stretched for more than five hours.
As consumption of food and drinks at both stadiums was not allowed, fans were issued with wrist tags which allowed them re-entry after leaving the stadium between games to have a meal.
Some fans took to social media to complain about the inconvenience and even wrote letters to The Straits Times Forum.
Engineer Syafiq Abdul Rahman, 33, and his five-year-old son were among the 15,000 fans who attended Singapore's 2-1 win over Malaysia at the National Stadium on Saturday. He told ST: "I made plans to enter the stadium slightly later than usual, almost around (the 8pm) kick-off, so my kid would not have to go too long without hydrating.
"It's great that food and beverage consumption will soon be allowed again, so I can bring my family to games earlier so we can all fully enjoy the stadium and match atmosphere."
The new rules are also timely for the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens, which will take place on April 9 and 10 at the National Stadium after a two-year hiatus owing to the pandemic.
The tournament features short, fast-paced games of sevens rugby that begin from as early as 10am and go up to 7pm, with little time between matches.
Singapore Sevens general manager Steven Rodaway said: "Many Singapore Sevens fans have been asking us about the regulations around the consumption of food and drinks. This is one of the last pieces of the puzzle and the news tonight is obviously great and timely for us. We hope to be able to share our ticketing details and final SMMs for the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens as soon as we have our plans approved."
Among the other changes announced by SportSG on Sunday was the easing of guidelines for sport activities, including the lifting of class size limits for unmasked indoor classes, with a 1m safe distancing requirement and subject to prevailing fire safety and room capacity requirements. Class sizes for unvaccinated children aged 12 and below will be limited to 10 people.
For competitions and tournaments, the number of people allowed at the facility is subject to prevailing fire safety and venue capacity requirements. Each match is allowed only up to 10 people in the field of play unless it takes place at supervised or operated sports facility such as ActiveSG or People's Association venues and SportSG-approved private facilities.
