In pictures: The empty stadiums that have become the norm
:Headline: In pictures: The empty stadiums that have become the norm:
Ball boys and girls have often been the only people in the stands as the coronavirus pandemic has kept crowds away.
Sports Mole
PA | 7d
Sports fans have grown accustomed to watching the action played out in empty stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic.
Images of swathes of empty seats on television have made for strange viewing and it has been particularly surreal on matchday for the ball-boys and ball-girls up and down the country.
They have been the only ones privileged to watch from stands but instead of being part of a noisy crowd they have carried out their duties, often sat alone, against a backdrop of eerie silence.
Here, the PA news agency's atmospheric images encapsulate the impact the fight against Covid-19 has had on our sporting lives.
A ball girl sits alone in the stands during Rotherham's home Sky Bet Championship match against Coventry (Tim Goode/PA)
A ball boy gathers a ball during MK Dons' League One match against Blackpool (Tim Goode/PA)
Job done, the ball boy sits back in his vantage point in Stadium MK (Tim Goode/PA)
A referee's assistant runs past during MK Dons' home defeat to Blackpool (Tim Goode/PA)
Room to spare for this ball boy at Hull's Papa John's Trophy tie against Lincoln at the KCOM Stadium (Tim Goode/PA)
Rows of empty seats occupied by another lone ball boy at MK Dons (Tim Goode/PA)
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