Sit down, shut up! The case for standing spectators in English football

The recent announcement that the Scottish Football Association are willing to give the idea of standing spectators a shot, has divided many football fans across the country. Some are completely against the idea; others think it’s just what the English game needs.

As some of you may know, I rarely come down on the side of anything to do with Scottish football, but in this instance I’m in complete agreement with the SFA, and I’m starting to ask the question, why is our own FA so adamant that we wont be following suit?

The Yellow Wall

These extra fans are surely great for business, as they generate extra income for the clubs, but they too must contribute to a far more impressive atmosphere during games (Dortmund’s Südtribüne terrace is nicknamed the ‘Yellow Wall’ in reference to its intense atmosphere).

Standing areas in the English game would benefit the average fan too, a standing ticket is likely to be substantially cheaper than a seated ticket, which, given the current economic climate is surely something that every football fan would appreciate. As I’ve previously mentioned, more fans in standing areas would undoubtedly lead to a better atmosphere. Personally I am always a little embarrassed to compare English stadium atmospheres to those on the continent, in comparison we’re silent!
 

A new record high attendance was set at the DW

It’s not a great surprise though, with the average age of an English Premier League supporter creeping ever closer to 50, there is a frighteningly low percentage, lower than 10%, of fans under the age of 24. Football, the once working class game, has been priced out of the reach of most.

It also seems fairly ridiculous that only the Premier League and Championship have to have all seated stadiums. Baring in mind that currently Charlton, a side with a 27,000 capacity stadium, and as recent as last season, Southampton, with a capacity of more than 30,000, would have been allowed standing areas for their fans, so any argument about crowd size can be dismissed.

In fact, the government’s ‘Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds’, which details the requirements for standing areas, states (among an exhaustive list of regulations) that as long as the amount of people allowed into a standing area “is counted and strictly controlled, according to the capacities set for those areas.” Then terracing is perfectly acceptable, if not as preferable as seating. The same document does acknowledge that the provision of seating does not ensure the safety of spectators. In fact, as more and more fans are choosing to stand in seated areas, particularly away fans, there is still a prominent danger that clubs are almost completely unable to prevent.

Standing backwards is the new sitting forwards

Football has come a long way since the 1980’s and so has its policing stewarding and general ground safety. You only have to glance at the 200 pages of the ‘Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds’ to acknowledge that a horrific disaster like the one at Hillsborough in 1987 is one that can, and in all probability would be able to be avoided.

Certainly in Germany, Shalke 04’s stadium, complete with standing section, has seen no injuries or incidents in the ten years that it’s been in use, Borussia Dortmund don’t even keep records on injuries sue to their infrequent nature.

While in this country there is still a lot of trepidation around the idea of standing terraces, due to the awful events at Hillsborough, the fact remains that properly overseen, and well maintained, standing terraces can improve the atmosphere, lower ticket prices and bring the game back to the working classes, where its history lies. I look forward to seeing how the Scottish teams get on with it and hope it’s as successful there as it is on the continent.