The move comes after Bundesliga clubs were permitted by the German government to allow fans to return to stadiums for the start of the 2020-21 season in Germany amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Borussia Dortmund’s season-opening Bundesliga fixture at home to Borussia Monchengladbach will now be played in front of 10,000 supporters, as the new government rule states that up to 20 per cent of stadium capacity can be used, while strict hygiene requirements will be imposed, and alcohol banned.

Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke in a statement “The Bundesliga teams, but also the clubs and associations of other sports, can be very happy today, and we definitely have this feeling at BVB. I would like to thank everyone in politics who contributed to today’s decision in the past few weeks. At the same time, I feel a great obligation that we as clubs, together with the fans involved, will handle this probationary period extremely responsibly in the coming weeks. The now-approved partial re-admission of viewers is, in any case, a very important step for all football fans in Germany”

The decision was made during a video conference on Thursday April 23, between representatives of all 36 clubs in the top two divisions decided to restart games on May 9, after the remaining league matches were initially suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Matches will take place behind closed doors with a maximum of 322 people allowed in and around stadiums for top-flight Bundesliga matches and 270 for second-tier games.

DFL CEO Christian Seifert said: ‘The Bundesliga is ready to resume, no matter whether on May 9 or a later date. But it’s not up to us to find a date. The political decision-makers decide. We have not defined an exact date today. The fact that we are even able to think about resuming games underlines the performance of the German authorities.  It would be presumptuous for the DFL to name an exact date for the restart. It’s not in our hands if we return or when. We have several options. If the signal comes in the next week that it can be May 9, then it will be May 9.”