standing at football grounds

Safe standing

The proposal that the national assembly wales

Calls on the Welsh Government to work closely with sport associations and regulatory authorities to promote safe standing at sports stadia in Wales;

Standing at football grounds is popular

Many remember standing areas such asthe Kop, The shed and the North Bank at Swansea

Many football fans want to be able to stand

Anyone listening to the tannoy at football grounds will be aware that many still stand in the seated area

Fans want to be able to stand

It would increase the capacity of football grounds without the need for any additional building work and save the clubs money

It is supported by the Football Supporters' Federation that believes a pilot scheme would show standing - outlawed after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 - is now a safe way to watch football. A number of clubs including Cardiff City support this.

I stand most weeks to watch sport on a Saturday afternoon in my constituency

Where the local rugby and soccer teams play but the largest crowd I was in last year was about 400 to see Bonymaen defeat Pontypool.

When the ground is not full there are huge advantages of standing.

You can move up and down the ground, meet up with different groups of friends and even when the ground is full you can stay together as a group of friends watching the game rather than be restricted in where you can sit.

With all those advantages why am I against safe standing

Firstly because I believe safe standing is an oxymoron.

I do not believe it possible at grounds which are at or near capacity.

I will now address four points

The surge, the crush, overcrowding, and holiganism

When a standing crowd surges

Everyone moves forward

But the banks are tiered, personal experience here,you  can be moving forward pushed by the crowd with your feet off the ground

To be deposited hopefully upright when the surge either return you to where you started or puts you down

The crush is caused brcause even if there is room at te corners fans, qite rightly want the best standing positin they can get so aim for a central position. Those at the back push forward, those at the front or against barriers end up getting crushed.

Whilst the number of seats in the seating area limits the numberwho can enter no such limit exists in the standing area. There is a nominal capacity but we are all different sizes and when overrcrowding occurs then you can have serious injuries and fatalities.

Finally hooliganism has been almost completely ended at football matches.

I believe one of the main reasonms is that you know who bought each seat and if there is a problem the purchaser can be identified.

Obviously with standing you do not know where anyone is and also it would allow the return of the charge.

Football grounds have become safe places the mix in the stands is far more reflective of society than the banks ever were.

To quote the Premier league

Since the introduction of all-seater stadia the supporter experience has improved significantly and we have seen more diverse crowds attending Premier League matches, including more women and children.

"The police, safety officers and licensing authorities remain clear and have consistently informed us that crowd management has improved as a result of all-seater stadiums being in place in the top two divisions in this country."

 

I believe that it would be a serious and retrograde step to bring back standing at football grounds