Fans to be allowed in Rio de Janeiro stadiums from July 10

Rio de Janeiro : Football fans in Rio de Janeiro will be free to attend matches from July 10 under a decree issued by city mayor Marcelo Crivella.

Stadiums must not exceed a third of capacity and there will be a limit of one supporter for every four square meters, according to the ruling published in Rio's official gazette.

In addition, clubs have been given permission to use all of their training facilities except saunas, swimming pools and hot tubs. Rio de Janeiro's state championship resumed on June 18 after a three-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The competition was again suspended two days later to allow teams to implement sanitary protocols. It is scheduled to restart on Sunday, with four matches scheduled as part of matchday 17.

Brazil has 1.3 million coronavirus cases, more than 57,000 of which have been fatal. Earlier it was announced by the Brazilian Football Confederation that the country's top flight SerieA championship will start in early August pending the approval of state and municipal health officials.

CBF bosses and club representatives have set a tentative target of August 9 to begin the top flight season, which had been due to commence in May before the coronavirus pandemic struck. The Serie B is slated to start on August 8.