Wembley will have “safe standing” from next season ready for the 2023 FA Cup final.
It is a huge moment for English football as all Premier League and Championship clubs will now be able to apply for standing areas for the 2022/23 campaign. Wembley will have around 2,000 places for fans - 1,000 behind each goal - to stand during forthcoming domestic games which will start with the Carabao Cup final and also include the FA Cup semi finals and final.
That follows a successful trial last season with Tottenham, Cardiff City, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all taking part while Brentford, QPR and Wolves have already applied for a licence from next season with others likely to follow. Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “Having safe standing at Wembley as well as other iconic stadiums is a fantastic moment and step forward.
“t's really significant because it's an iconic stadium, the home of football. But why not? We’ve said that we're confident that we can implement safe standing. This is not the old terraces, it’s one space with a seat if people wish to sit down. It’s really safe standing and that’s at the heart of the issue here.
“It’s a big day for football and a big day for fans because, like many other MPs, my inbox is always full of fans asking about when standing at football matches can come back.”
Tottenham built special safe standing rails in their new £1billion stadium at White Hart Lane and Huddleston attended their home match with Burnley last season. Standing and terraces were removed from top flight English football after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when tragically 97 people died and it led to all seater stadia.
But there has always been a push for the return of standing areas but it is done with each space having a seat, a rail on each row and the licensing authorities believe it makes stadiums safer. Despite the recent surge in crowd violence with pitch invasions and trouble, Ministers are convinced that safe standing can make people easier to identify and the rails mean it is safer when fans celebrate goals.
The Sports Ground Safety Authority also argue that it makes it easier when fans arrive late and pockets of overcrowding can be identified quicker. Liverpool have installed safe standing rails at Anfield but have yet to apply for a licence.
Even though the safe standing rails will be in place at Wembley by the time England entertain Germany at Wembley in September, fans will not be able to stand at those games because it is a UEFA competition. Teams with safe standing rails are only allowed to use the seats for the Champions League and Europa League so it will be the same for the England games and it will only be used for domestic games.
The Government will also push for more “aggressive” tackling of crowd problems including pitch invasions and says the safe standing will help cut back on trouble. Huddleston added: “I want to see more aggressive implementation of banning orders as well. If you misbehave in a safe standing area, you're more likely to get CCTV footage covering you. So I think that will actually enhance it.
“Plus, I say those physical barriers make it more difficult to climb over and come onto the ground. So actually it could well, the evidence suggests that actually it reduces the chances of that bad behaviour.” The necessary legislative changes were passed in Parliament on Monday.
