Promising news for Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday fans eyeing return to games after Boris Johnson's latest Covid-19 announcement

Boris Johnson addressed the nation two weeks before the planned ‘Freedom Day’ on July 19, when he plans to end Covid-19 restrictions with the exact details set to be confirmed next week.

Johnson set out what he called a five-point plan for living with Covid, revealing he will remove all legal limits on how many people can gather and the amount of people who will gather for sports events and concerts. The legal obligation to wear a face mask will also be removed, although guidance to wear them in certain situations will remain. No so-called Covid passport will be required for entry into events, according to the PM.

United kick off their 2021/22 Championship campaign at home to Birmingham City, while Wednesday’s League One adventure begins away at Charlton Athletic. Both games are televised live on Sky Sports.

Neither club has played in front of a full house since early last year, when the Covid-19 pandemic saw football postponed. United did welcome back a few thousand fans to Bramall Lane for their last game of last season, a victory over Burnley, but the prospect of substantial crowds returning to football grounds will be a huge step towards some kind of normality after the pandemic.

Both sides were relegated last season after football was played behind-closed-doors, suffering a financial drop in income as well as losing that sporting advantage of support from the stands.

Fans have been allowed back into Wembley for Euro 2020 games this summer, with Wembley welcoming back crowds of up to 45,000 so far and set to allow in 60,000 for the semi-finals and final this coming week.While you're here, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details HERE. Your support is much appreciated. Chris Holt, Football Editor