Saint-Denis Convention

The aim of the Saint-Denis Convention is to make football matches and other sporting events more welcoming, safe and secure.

On 31 October 2023, the UK Government formally ratified the Saint-Denis Convention on an integrated safety, security and service approach at football matches and other sports events. 

The UK was the 28^th country to ratify this, establishing co-operation between all stakeholders involved in the organisation of football matches and other sports events.

Aim of the convention

The principal aim of the convention is to go from a violence-focused approach towards an integrated approach based on three independent pillars: safety, security and service.

The two main characteristics of this convention are:

• the integrated approach: safety, security and service are considered as three interdependent pillars: safety, security and service measures cannot be implemented in isolation and security should never overrule safety and service;
• the multi-agency approach means that a range of agencies or stakeholders must be involved in the safety and security of a sports event and that no single stakeholder, e.g. the police, can address this issue alone.

This convention is the only internationally binding instrument to establish an integrated approach based on safety, security and service. It also promotes co-operation between all public and private stakeholders: governments, municipal authorities, police, football authorities and also supporters, in order to provide a safe, secure and welcoming environment at football matches and other sports events, whether it be inside or outside the stadia.

To this end, it sets out a number of measures, namely:

• close co-operation between police forces involved;
• prosecution of offenders and application of appropriate penalties;
• strict control of ticket sales;
• restrictions on the sale of alcoholic drinks; and
• appropriate design and physical fabric of stadia to prevent violence and allow effective crowd control and crowd safety.