Posted on 14th February 2013
At a national level the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) is in regular contact with the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) which brings many benefits for supporters and the authorities.
Posted on 14th February 2013
This is a story from the FSF archive – the FSF and SD merged to become the FSA in 2019.
Half of the Football League’s 72 clubs now back the FSF’s Safe Standing Campaign or have standing areas themselves. Last Friday Shrewsbury Town became the 21st club (and 18th Football League club) to officially back the Safe Standing Campaign while another 18 clubs have standing areas.
Clubs who support standing:
View Clubs backing the FSF’s Safe Standing Campaign in a larger map
The ever-growing list of clubs who back the FSF’s Safe Standing Campaign shows that there is a genuine appetite within the industry for both seated and standing accommodation. Survey after survey shows that the overwhelming majority of supporters back the choice to sit or stand. You can see a full run down of national polls and surveys here.
It’s not just clubs and fans who back safe standing – so too do many architects and safety experts including Wembley and Soccer City architect John Barrow of Populous. “We as designers have no problem with standing at all…in terms of safety it can be done without any problems at all in small areas. It is great to have standing areas,” said Barrow.
Westminster is also beginning to wake up to the arguments and the FSF’s Parliamentary event in December 2012 showcased safe standing to MPs, journalists and other football industry figures. The event was organised by the FSF with support from Roger Godsiff MP. Representatives from Aston Villa and Peterborough United said they would be happy for their clubs to trial safe standing areas.
In the past fortnight notable figures such as the Rt Hon David Davis MP and Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP have backed safe standing. Clarke said: ““I can see no reason why football clubs should not be allowed to introduce any form of accommodation which is compatible with modern safety standards.”
Main image – Bob Symns (chief executive, Peterborough United – middle row, centre) and representatives of Peterborough City Council with Jon Darch (Safe Standing Roadshow) and Hannover 96 staff among rail seats in the AWD Arena (Germany).
At a national level the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) is in regular contact with the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) which brings many benefits for supporters and the authorities.
In a first at a UK general election, all three of the main political parties have outlined support for standing at the match in their manifestos.
Cardiff City, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will be the first clubs to have licensed ‘safe standing’ in seated areas from January 1st the sports minister announced today.
The Premier League has announced a new funding scheme for National League system clubs and those in the women’s game. Grants totalling £16m are available between now and the end of the season.