Safe standing

by danielbarker on 23 August, 2014

Football clubs in the top divisions will be allowed to introduce safe standing areas into their grounds, under manifesto plans unveiled today by the Liberal Democrats.

Safe standing already operates in domestic leagues across Europe, including Germany, Austria and Sweden and is backed by 92% of football fans and 70% of football clubs in the UK.

Under the plans, clubs in the Premier League and Championship would be allowed to work with their supporters to introduce standing areas, which provide better atmospheres and allow clubs to offer cheaper safe standing season tickets.

There are several options for safe standing areas. The most commonly used one, and the one most likely to be used in the UK, is ‘rail seating’, a system where a safety barrier and flip down seat is equipped on every other row or step, so the areas can be changed from seats to standing areas depending on the event requirements. Rail seats also mean that clubs playing in Europe, where UEFA require all seater stadiums, could convert to seating if required.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Culture, Media & Sport John Leech MP said:

“The Liberal Democrats believe football clubs should be allowed to introduce safe standing areas where there is a desire to do so. Safe standing is allowed in many other sports and we do not believe that the top level of football should be an exception.

“We are not calling for a return of the terraces of the 1980s. Modern safe standing areas using ‘rail seating’ operate very successfully in top tier football across Europe.”

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