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The Safe Standing Campaign – Get involved!

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As I mentioned in my first article, I think the Premier League should adopt some of the policies of the Bundesliga, and it looks as though we are doing that, with another football team now supporting the Safe Standing Campaign. The aim of the campaign is to:

“To persuade the Government, football authorities and football clubs to accept the case for introducing, on a trial basis, limited sections of standing areas at selected grounds in the stadiums of Premier League and Championship football clubs.”

The aim of this is to create a larger fan base in stadiums, the tickets will be cheaper, it will be easier to move around at half time, the enjoyment of the game will be so much more greater with more louder, passionate fans cheering as your team nets the winning goal.

Doncaster Rovers are now backing the campaign, and with support also by Aston Villa and Peterborough, the FSF, (Football Supporters’ Federation) need the trust and support of loyal football fans. Will you join me in supporting this cause? All you have to do is sign a free petition, spread the cause of this campaign so we can all, as honest football fans, enjoy the game with a greater sense of passion that we’ve felt for so many years.

http://www.fsf.org.uk/petitions/safestanding.php

You may think that standing for a whole football match might be tiring, and unhealthy for you. This is in fact a myth, there is no evidence to support the claim that standing for long periods of time is unsafe. You may think of Hillsborough and think that standing at football matches is unsafe. However, it’s now clear that poor policing, overcrowding and poor stadium layout were the reasons for the disaster. Germany already have safe standing areas as mentioned, but places in the USA and Canada, countries which take safety as importantly in England, also have safe standing areas in sports stadiums.

The reason why we do not already have safe standing areas in newly built stadiums isn’t because those stadiums have chosen not to, it’s because many lower-league clubs became all-seated as a result of receiving funding from the ‘Football Foundation’ which stipulates all-seated stadiums as a condition of their financial assistance. It is misleading to suggest that clubs have chosen this route because they believe sitting is a better model than standing. Morecambe and Gateshead are two examples who have recently elected to forego Football Foundation money to retain standing areas.

UEFA also has nothing against safe standing areas, as UEFA regulations state that European competitions must be played in all-seated stadiums. Rail seats can be converted to and from seating, so this is not an obstacle to clubs providing standing accommodation for domestic games and all-seated accommodation for European games. Many German clubs do this already, and it’s about time we got on board.

Check out the website and see what you think: http://www.fsf.org.uk/. I advise you to join the cause and spread the word!

Follow me on twitter and let me know whatever your thinking! @JoelEdwards92

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