Coventry City CEO Dave Boddy has provided an update to Sky Blues supporters ahead of the start of the 2020/21 season. City, led by popular manager Mark Robins, will feature in the Championship for the first time since 2012 on Saturday, the West Midlands outfit face Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

Boddy, a longstanding member of the Coventry board, wrote to City supporters to “keep them updated as to the situation around the club”, as the Sky Blues prepare for the upcoming Championship campaign.

Boddy’s statement addressed the financial challenges facing the club, while providing further information about the Sky Blues’ plans to welcome supporters back to St. Andrew’s once given Government clearance.

Sky Blues could host spectator test event

On 17 July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled plans that would allow spectators to return to stadia by October. Premier League and EFL clubs have participated in several Covid-19 pilot events, which allowed some supporters to watch live football for the first time since March.

2,500 fans watched Brighton & Hove Albion host Chelsea in a pre-season friendly at the end of last month, while Warwickshire County Cricket Club was also permitted to welcome fans back to Edgbaston in August.

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The United Kingdom has seen an increase in the number of new coronavirus cases since the start of this month. 8,396 cases have been reported since Sunday, marking a significant change in the trajectory of the virus. The UK’s seven-day rolling average for new cases has risen to 2,199, with the Government implementing stricter lockdown conditions in Bolton on Tuesday afternoon.

City CEO Boddy has admitted that the situation “is ever-changing”, stressing that Sky Blues fans could face an extended wait before they are permitted to attend fixtures at St. Andrew’s.

“Once there is Government approval for fans to return,” Boddy wrote, “we will be required to then get approval from the local Safety Advisory Group and hold a ‘test event’ with fans at St Andrew’s.”

The Sky Blues expect to welcome 7,000 fans on matchdays, following the competition of a successful test event.

Boddy continued: “It is also a possibility that we will only need one ‘test event’ at the Trillion Trophy St. Andrews, so that might be for either a Birmingham City game or a Coventry City game.

“Depending on how successful the test event is will be dependent on whether we can reach the 22-25% of capacity or not.

“We had initially hoped that the home game against Bournemouth on 3rd October could possibly have been our “test event”, but in view of the timescales required this now looks highly unlikely.”

City buoyed by bounce in support upon Championship return

Since gaining promotion from League One, the Sky Blues have experienced an uptake in support, according to Coventry CEO Boddy. Despite a lack of clarity regarding how social distancing regulations will affect matchday experiences, City have sold over 1,800 season tickets.

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Boddy added: “Elsewhere, we have seen huge sales of the home and away kits that we unveiled last month. To give an indication to you, last year we were selling around 95 shirts per day at this point – this year that is nearly double that figure!

“Both kits are testament to the work we have done internally and with Hummel, again showing how important the ability to create bespoke kits to Coventry City has been to us.”

New signings could prove the difference in second-tier

Sky Blues CEO Boddy praised Coventry staff for the “hard work going on behind-the-scenes,” with the organisation united in “mak[ing] sure we are in the best possible shape for the season ahead.”

Boddy added: “Recently we have brought in Tyler Walker, Leo Ostigard, and Ben Sheaf to the squad, who are all key additions to the side and add further quality to the squad.”

Walker scored on his City debut to hand the Sky Blues a hard-won victory over MK Dons in the first round of the Carabao Cup on 5 September.

Robins’ side battled to a 2-2 draw against Solihull Moors in their final pre-season test, with the Sky Blues set to face Bristol City and QPR in the opening weeks of the Championship season.

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