Zenith draws parallels between Fan ID and Coronavirus vaccination – RBC Sport

Zenith compared Fan ID with vaccination against coronavirus

The St. Petersburg club said that they are making various efforts to encourage fans to get a Fan ID. It looks like vaccination, since the issuance of a card requires certain efforts on the part of citizens, Zenit noted.

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Zenit is distributing tickets for its home matches through schools and budgetary organizations in the face of deteriorating attendance due to the introduction of a fan card (Fan ID). About this “Sport-Express” declared in the press service of the St. Petersburg club.

“Together with the city, a “road map” was developed, in accordance with which the process of working with the population is currently underway, designed to stimulate the issuance of a FAN ID. This includes free tickets, lotteries, concerts and much more, ”Zenith said.

The club compared the current situation with Fan ID with vaccination against coronavirus. “Issuing a card requires some effort on the part of citizens, and going to the MFC takes time. We need mass explanatory work, a system of incentives, the organization of conditions for labor and informal teams to attend football – all this requires the coordinated work of the club, city administration, enterprises and committees, ”Zenith added.

According to Zenit estimates, before the introduction of Fan ID, more than 1 million fans a year attended the club’s matches. “It turns out that in order for the club to return to such attendance figures in the season, more than 1 million Petersburgers need to issue Fan ID. Now there are a lot of rumors and speculations on this topic, so we can say this: we distributed, we distribute and we will distribute tickets until we reach the desired numbers in terms of the number of fans who issued a fan card, ”concluded the press service.

The Fan Card Law was passed and approved in December 2021 and came into force on June 1. After that, most of the fan associations of the Russian Premier League clubs opposed Fan ID and decided to boycott the games of their teams.

Since December 1 last year, Fan ID has been introduced at all stadiums of the Russian Football Championship. As a result, game attendance has plummeted.

On March 14, the Ministry of Digital Development announced that it is no longer necessary to visit the MFC to obtain a Fan ID – a card can be issued remotely using a ten-year passport or biometrics from the Unified Biometric System.

This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed, by May 1, to simplify the use of Fan ID for citizens, primarily for the disabled, pensioners and children.