Brazil Vs Argentina Becomes A Test Of Audience Attendance At The Stadium, 12.000 Supporters Will Be Present

JAKARTA - The Brazilian football confederation, CBF, announced that as many as 12.000 supporters will be allowed to watch the CONMEBOL 2022 World Cup qualifying match against Argentina next month.

"The match will be the first and important test of the attendance of supporters at a major sporting event in the state of Sao Paulo", the CBF said in a statement, quoted by Antara from Reuters, Wednesday evening.

The match is scheduled to take place on September 5 at the Neo Quimica Arena Stadium, Sao Paulo, which has a total capacity of 48.234 spectators.

In Brazil, football matches have been played behind closed doors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

More than 575.000 Brazilians have died after contracting the virus, but the death toll has fallen as vaccination rates have increased, raising hopes of a return to normal for local authorities.

The Brazil versus Argentina match is one of three matches that will be played by each CONMEBOL country in the international break calendar which will take place from September 2 to September 9.

However, this international break calendar has been marked by the refusal of a number of top European leagues, including England, Spain, and Italy, to release their players citing COVID-19 isolation rules.

FIFA previously decided not to continue with the permit policy for clubs not to release their players for international matches during the COVID-19 pandemic, a rule that officially ended on April 21.