All-Seater Policy – Enforcement Approach

The All-Seater Policy – Enforcement Approach gives clarity and transparency to our role in enforcing the licence conditions.

It sets out the reasonable steps clubs can take to reduce the safety risks associated with persistent standing.

The guidance outlines:

• Requirements of clubs to meet the licence conditions.
• Initial steps and further actions we expect clubs to put in place to address persistent standing.
• Ways clubs can minimise the safety risks for fans who still choose to stand in seated areas, despite the efforts of clubs.

It doesn’t:

• Introduce new requirements for clubs.
• Create new powers for the SGSA.
• Change the all-seater policy.

The latest version of the document (for the 2023-24 season) builds on the consistent and proportionate approach adopted by SGSA in previous seasons. This has helped to facilitate ongoing constructive engagement with grounds about the spectator safety risks associated with persistent standing, and the agreement of voluntary mitigation measures at those grounds identified as higher risk.

We will work with ground management to address issues, liaising with relevant local authorities which have safety certification responsibilities where these are engaged. Any SGSA enforcement options under the 1989 Act will be tailored to the risk and compliance levels for each ground.

We will, subject to the nature of risk and compliance issues encountered, adopt a graduated scale of actions, as outlined in this document, to give ground management every opportunity to take all initial steps and appropriate further action to comply with the all-seater licence conditions and/or licensed standing conditions.

It is highly recommended that ground management review this document and use it as a blueprint to address the safety risks associated with persistent standing in seated areas.