A year without fans lays bare soccer's true soul
A year ago at The Shay, home to fifth-tier English soccer club Halifax FC, fans followed time-honoured traditions - they walked to the match from local pubs and queued for pie at half time.
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But the last year has shown that the sport has missed its passionate supporters as much as they have missed the sport.
English novelist J.B. Priestley summed up almost a century ago the escapism and drama that standing in the crowd can bring:
"...there you were, cheering together, thumping one another on the shoulders, swopping judgements like lords of the earth, having pushed your way through a turnstile into another and altogether more splendid kind of life, hurtling with Conflict and yet passionate and beautiful in its Art."
A steward guards an empty carpark before a Championship football match between Preston North End and AFC Bournemouth at Deepdale.
Huddersfield Towns ground staff mow the grass on the pitch after a Championship football match between Huddersfield Town and Stoke City at John Smith's Stadium.
The Soccer Bar is pictured empty on the day of League Two football match between Barrow and Exeter City at Holker Street.
Swansea City manager Steve Cooper holds a press conference with the media in front of a concessions stand in a concourse underneath the main stand during the fourth round of a FA Cup football match between Swansea City and Nottingham Forest at Liberty Stadium. Interviews and press conferences have been moved from often very small press rooms to help with social distancing.
A photographer fills in a heath questionnaire to be allowed access to the stadium on the day of a Championship football match between Blackburn Rovers and Watford at Ewood Park. This is done for every single game as per the COVID-19 protocols.
A heath questionnaire to gain access to an upcoming football match between Manchester City and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Members of the media walk past a vaccine centre sign as they leave the stadium on the day of a Championship football match between Huddersfield Town and Stoke City at John Smith's Stadium.
The Exeter City football team get back on the bus to start their 330 mile trip back home as the football match between Barrow and Exeter City was postponed due to a frozen pitch at Holker Street. The referee called it off 30 minutes before the game was meant to start.
Social distancing markers are stuck on the floor in the men's toilets in preparation for when fans can return to football stadiums, on the day of a Championship football match between Derby County and AFC Bournemouth at Pride Park.
Preston North End players walk out to the pitch after getting changed before a Championship football match between Birmingham City and Preston North End at St Andrew's. Many of the away dressing rooms can't be used because of their size making social distancing impossible. This has led to teams getting changed in all sorts of places around the stadiums and walking out to the pitch from unusual places.
The Assistant referee wears a protective face mask before walking to the pitch near Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland on the day of a Championship football match between Stoke City and Middlesbrough at the bet365 Stadium.
The Assistant referee wears a protective face mask as he performs a final net check during the second round of a Carabao Cup football match between Rochdale and Sheffield Wednesday at The Crown Oil Arena.
A member of groundstaff jumps over the boards, after providing the finishing touches to the goal mouth, before a League Two football match between Morecambe and Mansfield Town at Mazuma Stadium.
Derby County's Graeme Shinnie scores his penalty against Barrow in the shootout in an empty stadium as Derby progress to the next round of the Carabao Cup at the Pride Park stadium.
A photographer sits in an empty stand during a Championship football match bewteen Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United at Ewood Park. Normally, positions like these aren't usually available for photographers so they take full advantage to get a different vantage points.
Cardboard cutouts of football fans are placed in stands as clubs try to increase revenue and add some atmosphere into the stadiums, on the day of a football match between Birmingham City and Watford at St Andrew's.
A member of the Wolverhampton Wanderers Coaching staff wears a protective facemask and goggles on the day of a Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion at Molineux Stadium.
England and Wales football players hold a minutes applause for the late World Cup winner Jack Charlton who passed away, as a mark of respect during an International Friendly football match between England and Wales at Wembley Stadium.
A steward makes use of the spare seats as he puts his feet up while watching a football game between Stoke City and Watford at the bet365 Stadium.
Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Conor Coady gives his post match interview whilst everyone around him wears Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on the day of a Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City at Molineux Stadium.
A message reading 'Let's kick Covid out' is projected onto screens at the bet365 Stadium on the day of a football match between Stoke City and Barnsley.
Manchester United coach Casey Stoney takes part in a socially distanced interview after a Women's Super League football match between Everton and Manchester United at Walton Hall Park.
Darnell Furlong of West Bromwich Albion runs out of the stadium to the car park to celebrate promotion to the Premier League with the fans who had gathered there after Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers in The Hawthorns.
Darnell Furlong of West Bromwich Albion celebrates promotion to the Premier League with the fans who had gathered outside of the stadium, after Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers in The Hawthorns.
