After 28 years, English clubs will be able to provide stands in their stadiums for fans to stand on. The decision was taken on Monday (4) by British Culture Secretary Nadine Norris.
“Only clubs that adhere to high security will be allowed. Thanks to a robust process, with testing and modern engineering, we are ready to allow seats to stand again in our fields,” the official explained.
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Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham participated in an experiment that was considered successful during the second half of last season, as did Cardiff, who played in 2021/22 in the English second division championship. The stadiums of these clubs had sections for standing fans.
Permission notwithstanding, it is not certain that all clubs create these spaces. Only Wolverhampton, Brentford (both in the Premier League) and Queens Park Rangers (the Championship) have already announced that they will offer fixed seats.
The government has already announced that the legendary Wembley Stadium will provide this capability, and has already set a test date for September, when England welcome Germany, in a valid Nations League match.
Regular fans were banned from playing English football nearly 28 years ago, five years after the Hillsborough tragedy, when 96 Liverpool fans died and hundreds were injured during a massive FA Cup semi-final match with Nottingham Forest.
In January 2022, Hesborough’s 97th victim, Andrew Devine, was known to have lost his life as a result of injuries from the 1989 disaster.
