Safe Standing: Five clubs in the Premier League and Championship set to experiment new safe standing arrangements

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Five clubs across the Premier League and Championship are set to introduce “safe standing arrangements” from January 1st 2022.

This will mean that, for the first time in many years, it will be okay to stand up during games at selected stadia across England and Wales.

Clubs that will allow this will include giants of the domestic game such as Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Championship’s Cardiff City.

The Bluebirds will form part of a formal trial, having confirmed in September that they would give it a go. All the teams have begun preparations to install the new “rail seating” ahead of the safe standing opening in the New Year.

Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust issued a statement following the announcement that a Safe Standing pilot scheme would operate at the stadium from January 2022.

Trust chair Keith Morgan spoke about it being a great addition to the Cardiff City Stadium and it allows fans who prefer to stand ‘a much safer way of doing so’.

“It’s great that our club is leading the way in the Championship in developing a Safe Standing area in the stadium. This gives those fans who prefer to stand at matches a much safer way of doing so.”

The five clubs have, unsurprisingly, backed the new trial though must meet strict criteria in order to receive approval to have licensed standing areas including:

• The necessary infrastructure needs to be in place before January 1st 2022 – such as seats with barriers/independent barriers – which must be in both home and away sections.
• The seats cannot be locked in the ‘up’ or ‘down’ position, allowing fans the option of being able to sit (for example, during breaks in play).
• There must also be one seat/space per person.
• The licensed standing areas must not impact the viewing standards or other fans, including disabled fans.
• There must be a Code of Conduct in place for fans in the licensed standing area.
• Briefing and training must be in place for staff and stewards to ensure only relevant ticketholders are admitted to the licensed standing areas.
• CCTV must be in place and offer full coverage of the licensed standing areas. The ground must consult with its Safety Advisory Group about plans for the licensed standing areas.

Importantly, it is not a reintroduction of terraces in top-flight grounds and other areas of the ground, without barriers, which will remain subject to the Government’s all-seater policy.

What does all this mean for fans?

May we anticipate the return of the swirling waves of fans behind the goal? Swaying banks of scarf-clad choristers bellowing out their timeless tribal anthems?

These new arrangements seem to be put in place for standing for the sake of it. They are unlikely to recreate the camaraderie of the terraces and, frankly, if you can only stand in your allocated space and row, accessed by a pre-ordained gate to be stood next to a guy you don’t know, well frankly, what’s the point? You may as well sit down.

This also begs the question of how fans outside the Safe Standing areas can expect to be treated?

Presumably, standing will no longer be tolerated in other areas of the stadium? If not, then why bother with the whole experiment?

If the five teams can demonstrate that fans can stand safely, though, who knows?

Might we see an evolution from rows of individual seats to “pens” of say, 25, 50 or 100 fans, all stood safely but with the ability to still mingle within their pens? It’s not the standing we miss seeing, it’s the mingling.

This might be regarded as Work-in-Progress so let’s back the initiative and see how this experiment turns out.

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