Beginning with the 2022/2023 season, Premier League and Championship clubs will be able to add licenced “safe standing” areas to football stadiums.
The Premier League and Championship clubs will be able to add licenced “safe standing” areas to football stadiums beginning with the upcoming 2022/23 season, the Government has confirmed.
In order to provide licenced standing in designated seated areas for both home and away supporters, Brentford, Queens Park Rangers, and Wolverhampton Wanderers will be the first clubs to join “early adopters” Cardiff City, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.
Throughout the course of the football season, it is anticipated that additional clubs will adopt licenced standing areas.
At upcoming domestic matches later this season, the venerable Wembley Stadium will also provide a small licenced standing area for spectators.
Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries said:
“We want to make the experience of watching football as magical as the play on the pitch.
“Fans will now be able to cheer on their team from a seat or join others in a safe standing section to really get behind the players and roar on their heroes to victory.
“We are not reintroducing terraces and only clubs which meet strict safety criteria will be permitted. Thanks to a robust trial, thorough evidence and modern engineering, we are now ready to allow standing once again in our grounds.”
Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston said:
“Based upon what I have experienced and we have learnt through the pilot programme, safe standing is set to deliver an electric atmosphere at our football stadiums.
“Fans have long campaigned for its introduction and we have worked carefully with supporters groups, including the families affected by the tragic Hillsborough football disaster.
“I am proud of the work that has gone into this rigorous process and that we have delivered on our manifesto commitment to get fans back on their feet in stadiums.”
Following an application process overseen by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and open to all grounds covered by the all-seater policy, the stadiums have been chosen (SGSA). Strict requirements, such as improved steward training, increased use of CCTV, and strict “one person, one space” restrictions for fans, have been met. As part of the application process, clubs have also interacted with the public.
The installation of barriers or rails in places where people are standing for an extended period of time in seated areas has had a positive impact on spectator safety and improved matchday experiences for fans in both home and away sections, according to a final report on the Government-commissioned trial last season at the early adopter clubs. Clubs should be given the chance to implement licenced standing areas as soon as possible, the report suggests.
An interim report into the trial, published by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) in April, found that:
- Goal celebrations being more orderly with no opportunity for forwards and backwards movement of fans, reducing the risk of fans falling on those around them;
- Barriers offering stability for people moving up and down aisles and gangways;
- Latecomers being able to access their seats in the middle of rows more quickly, as others are already standing and have barriers to lean against to allow them to pass;
- Pockets of overcrowding being easier to identify to security officials, as fans are lined up more clearly
The final report concludes:
- The exit of fans from the stadia is more uniform because the barriers limit spectators’ ability to climb over seats to exit more quickly;
- Spectators are lined up more clearly and therefore any risk of overcrowding can be identified, particularly using CCTV;
- Stewards can be put in more locations without risking impacting sight lines;
- There is no evidence to date that the introduction of licensed standing areas has led to an increase in standing elsewhere in stadia
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston made the announcement at Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane stadium, where he had gathered with fans to watch the North London team defeat Burnley 1-0 on May 15.
Sports Grounds Safety Authority Chief Executive, Martyn Henderson OBE said:
“We welcome the controlled return of standing for the modern era, which has been made possible by a very close collaboration with the Government.
“This is an historic moment for football – and, most importantly, for the fans who have campaigned for this change and will be safer as a result of today’s decision.”
Chief Executive of the Football Supporters’ Association, Kevin Miles said:
“Match-going supporters know the benefits of safe standing are enormous, with better atmospheres and more choice for fans, whether they prefer to sit or stand.
“The FSA has always made the case that football clubs should be able to talk to their fanbase and work together to find the ideal mix of seating and standing at every club. That’s now possible and it’s no surprise at all that more clubs are already looking to join last season’s early adopters and install their own safe standing areas.”
Senior Research Manager for CFE Research, Jo Welford said:
“Over the last three years we have been able to gather evidence from a range of grounds, and have seen that the installation of barriers, alongside being able to run these areas as licensed standing sections, has a positive impact on the safety of fans who stand so it seems a logical conclusion to this work to see a policy change that allows this across football.
“Barriers along every row are effective at preventing fans falling forward, and so the primary benefit is a reduced risk of injury during goal celebrations. But there are other benefits too – fans in those areas have something to hold onto for stability, and it is harder for people to move around in sections. We surveyed fans in those areas and the vast majority reported feeling safe, they feel well protected by the barriers and being able to stand and watch football without being asked to sit down has improved the match day experience too.”
During the second half of the 2021–2022 season, Cardiff City, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur participated in the early adopter programme. The test events began on January 2 with a 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
Fans are permitted to stand for games under licenced standing in designated areas behind a barrier or a rail in persistent standing zones. Each supporter must use a traceable, numbered ticket and take up the same space as they would if they were seated.
Fans may sit if they choose, and standing areas cannot obstruct other fans’ views. Seats cannot be locked in the up or down position.
Fans are expected to sit in the other fully seated areas of the stadium.
Standing areas are already commonplace in the Bundesliga in Germany, and there are also instances of them in other parts of Europe, the US, and Australia.
Today (4 July), the necessary changes to the Football Spectators Act have been introduced in Parliament.