TOKYO • A new smartphone app will allow fans to send virtual cheers and even jeers to stadiums, in the hope of creating a better atmosphere at Japanese sports matches being played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Yamaha has said its remote cheering system will let users tap buttons on the app to deliver cheers - or boos - via dozens of speakers placed inside grounds.

Event organisers can pre-set various types of cheers and jeers, and change the intensity levels depending on the number of users pressing their buttons.

They can pick which side of the stadium to send their chosen cheer or jeer, and can remotely join chants that only designated users can begin.

Even when a live audience is permitted, fans may still choose to use the app as shouting can potentially spread Covid-19 as the disease is contracted via respiratory droplets.

The Japanese conglomerate originally planned to launch the app later this year, but accelerated its development after the coronavirus crisis forced sporting events worldwide to be cancelled or played without fans.

Yamaha said a recent test of the system at a 51,000-seat stadium produced a sound similar to that of a live crowd. "At one point during the system field test, I closed my eyes and it felt like the cheering fans were right there in the stadium with me," said an official.

The firm deployed a total of 58 speakers at the Ecopa Stadium in Shizuoka and invited officials from J-League football teams Jubilo Iwata and Shimizu S-Pulse to send in remote cheers and boos.

"I feel that this system will encourage players on the field by making them feel like their fans and supporters are nearby," Jubilo's business strategy official Hiromi Yanagihara said.

The firm added the app can also be used in the future by those unable to attend matches and had uses beyond sports.

Spokesman Kenji Arakawa said: "This might be used at music concerts, theatres or comedy shows. Especially in comedy acts, audience reaction is essential."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS