Standing areas are set to be offered at selected Premier League and Championship grounds from new years day next year, ending a blanket ban on standing in the top two tiers of English football which has lasted for more than 25 years.
Clubs subject to the Government’s all-seater policy will be invited to apply to join an ‘early adopter’ scheme by October 6th, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority has said. Safe standing trials will then run at the approved clubs from 1st January 2022 until the end of the current season.
Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Spurs, Wolves and West Ham are among the top-flight clubs to have installed rail seating at their grounds.
Spurs and Manchester City are understood to be keen to be part of the pilot, and Liverpool said in June they were keen to trial temporary rail seating and then review it at the end of the campaign. It is not known whether West Ham will be an early adopter and apply using new stands behind the goals with safe standing functionality. That decision to use standing at the London Stadium will be taken by the stadium owners LLDC and the Newham led safety advisory group together with West Ham
Standing areas in what is now the Premier League and Championship were outlawed by legislation passed in the wake of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.
