History

‘Responsibility for the safety of spectators lies at all times with ground management’

The Guide to Safety at
Sports Grounds, (The Green Guide) – 5th
Edition

This principle was established with the publication of the first Green Guide in 1973 and repeated in subsequent editions including the most recent 5th edition in 2008. However the debate and controversy on crowd safety can be traced back to the 1924 Shortt Report into the near disaster which occurred at the opening of the original Wembley Stadium. Yet despite a long history of tragedies at football grounds, with numerous inquiries and reports all agreeing that the safety of spectators was the responsibility of the sports ground management, the more senior football supporter will remember how football grounds in the 70’s and 80’s resembled secure fortresses guarded by hundreds of police officers. This however was not enough to prevent the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium Disaster when 96 football fans tragically died.

It could be argued that at the time the needs of safety and security were out of balance and this was a fundamental reason for the disaster. Many of our current members, including Jim Chalmers, our Honorary President, were senior police officers in those days. They can tell you from first hand experience how the police were obliged to fill the void in controlling and managing spectators at football grounds due to the absence of Safety Officers and competent stewards.

All of this changed in the flurry of activities which followed Lord Justice Taylor’s report into the Hillsborough Stadium disaster. The police had to seriously examine their role in sports grounds and the football authorities were forced to face up to their responsibilities for ensuring the care, safety and well being of their customers. In particular they were forced to look at how their grounds were managed with one of the main concerns being the variance in safety management performances around football grounds in England and Wales. Safety systems and practices were being evolved locally but in a piecemeal fashion and with very little consistency or uniformity of purpose. Such inconsistency included the appointment of Safety Officers, which before Hillsborough was not an established post at the majority of Clubs. Even in the immediate post Hillsborough era there were many Clubs who felt that aging Club Secretaries, with little knowledge or experience of safety management, could discharge the role of a Safety Officer. Others deemed it to be a match day only position. This was unacceptable to the few capable and competent Safety Officers at the time and created the climate which helped bring about the Football Safety Officers Association of England and Wales. (The FSOA).

Where it all began

The birth of the FSOA was the brainchild of Mike Holford QPM, then Safety Officer at Nottingham Forest F.C. Mike later became the first Honorary President of the Association but is sadly no longer with us. The inaugural meeting of the FSOA took place in Nottingham on 29 October 1992 and was attended by 28 Safety Officers. The aims of the Association then and now can be summarised as:

‘Improving safety at football grounds by enhancing the role of safety management and the status of the safety officer within the football industry. The Association intends to achieve this by promulgating best safety management practices, enhancing the role of stewards and continually developing the expertise of safety officers’.

The success of the FSOA is well evidenced by other sporting bodies creating their own Safety Officers Associations in Scotland and Northern Ireland and in sports such as Rugby League, Rugby Union and English cricket. All of these separate Associations have as their aims the same safety principles established by the FSOA

Training and Qualifications

As membership of the FSOA has grown so too has its influence in the wider sports industry. Over the years the FSOA has led the way in the development of the professional competencies of both its members and the wider spectator safety management sector. This was principally achieved by the introduction in 2002 of the 6 day FSOA Event and Match day Safety Management Course. Although this Course is no longer available the Association is committed to working with other training bodies to encourage and promote the development of professional safety qualifications for our members. This commitment by the FSOA became even more relevant in 2008 when the 5th edition of the Green Guide recommended:

‘That a Safety Officer should as a minimum have, or be working towards, a Level 4 spectator safety qualification on the relevant qualification framework’.

Whilst the majority of our members now hold this qualification the diversity of skills within the Association is evidenced by other relevant qualifications attained by our members including degrees, diplomas and vocational qualifications in risk and security, management, fire safety, business studies as well as health and safety and environmental studies. It is now recognised that professional safety management can only be performed by professional safety practitioners with the relevant qualifications to support their levels of competencies. It is no longer acceptable for a Club to recruit as their Safety Officer a retired member of the emergency services thinking that they have the necessary training, qualifications and experience to discharge the demanding roles and responsibilities of a Safety Officer from day one.

As a member of the Joint Football Authorities Safety Management Focus Group, the FSOA has been a major player in the development of stewards’ training and assessment and at a practical level our members are the key to ensuring that their stewards achieve the necessary training and assessment qualifications required by sport in general and football in particular.

Our members are represented on various working groups related to all aspects of improving stadium facilities and management and are regular speakers at safety and security seminars both here and abroad.

Management Team

The development and coordination of the Association’s activities is directed through John Newsham, Chair of the FSOA and Stadium & Safety Manager at Blackburn Rovers Football Club, supported by the six regional chairs of the Association. These members comprise the National Executive Committee. The FSOA now has seven regions with the Football Association of Ireland joining us in 2010.

It was however recognised in 2002 that the work of managing the Association had outgrown the original concept of a part time Secretary’s role being undertaken by full time Safety Officers who already had a demanding and time consuming post. In that year therefore the Association appointed a full time General Secretary and this post is currently filled by Chris Patzelt who has a wealth of experience in various management roles in the world of football. The General Secretary acts for and reports to the National Executive on all aspects of the Association’s functions including the organisation and management of two bi-annual national conferences.

In October 2011 the FSOA moved to new offices at the Blackburn Rovers Enterprise Centre.  The move has given our organisation a firm base from which the General Secretary and Chairman can co-ordinate the Association’s activities.

One of the main developments in the service to our members was the establishment of the FSOA website in 2000. The new facility enables members to exchange information and access all current documentation relevant to their role. The website also includes a facility for members to upload and download post match safety reports. Safety Officers can, therefore, exchange much more match day information such as attendances, methods of travel, visiting supporters’ numbers and behaviour, particular problems including any arrests or ejections and the reasons for these. This information allows members to plan their events and the use of their resources more accurately and effectively without relying solely on police intelligence. The match day reporting system, like other FSOA services, is constantly evolving to take account of the needs of its members and demands of the football industry and the sports regulatory bodies. This is all something, which could only have been dreamed of when the Association was formed in 1992.

Another valuable function of the website is the interactive Forum where members can seek advice or exchange information on any problems or issues they might face in their day to day safety management operations. There is an old saying that there is never any need to re-invent the wheel and the vast experience of our members is available to all their colleagues either through the Forum or through personal contact.

Patron

2011 the Association was honoured and delighted when Gordon Taylor, OBE, Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, agreed to be the Patron of the Association. With his standing and knowledge of the football industry Gordon has agreed to work with the Association in developing its profile, status and reputation within the world of football.

The FSOA has certainly come a long way since 1992 but safety management is far from being a one off concept. It has to be constantly worked at to avoid any suggestion of or opportunity for complacency creeping in. Our members are at the forefront of every football match day operation when supporters can, should and deserve to expect that every effort will be made to ensure their reasonable care, comfort and safety when following their team and the sport they enjoy from the moment they enter the football ground until the moment they leave. The person, who has to ensure this, the Safety Officer, carries a tremendous responsibility on his/her shoulders and it is a burden that can take its toll. That is why our Association is committed to supporting members in any way it can and to ensure they have the competencies, status, authority and self belief to effectively discharge the onerous demands of their role.

The future will continue to present many challenges both to the Association and our members but experience has shown our ability to respond effectively to whatever issues have arisen which have a direct impact on either Stadium or spectator safety. Over the years as safety legislation, safety regulation, safety guidance and safety expectations have continually evolved so has the need for our Association and our members to keep pace with change as it happens. The main problem facing the Association as we strive to keep pace with change and to move forward is the lack of adequate funding to secure not only the future of the Association but our future growth and development. Unless the Association can secure some long term funding in the form of major sponsorship or support from the Football Authorities or a significant benefactor then the standards and quality of service delivery which the Association, through its membership, would wish to achieve will be very much in doubt.

Stadium and spectator safety is a dynamic and ongoing concept. Thus we must be alert, active and energetic in staying at the forefront of professional stewarding and safety management in the years ahead if we are to continue to build upon the Association aims and aspirations as the acknowledged principle Stadium and spectator safety organisation both in the UK and internationally.

Meet the Team

Areas of responsibility: