United Kingdom: 5 clubs authorised to use safe standing places in their stadiums from 01/01/2022

Cardiff City FC (Sky Bet Championship), Chelsea FC, Manchester City FC, Manchester United FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC (Premier League) will be the first football clubs to be allowed to use their dedicated "safe standing" areas from 01/01/2022, according to Nigel Huddleston, UK Under Secretary of State for Sport, on 08/11/2021.

Standing places had been banned in the United Kingdom since 1989 and the introduction of a law passed following the Hillsborough disaster on 15/04/1989, in which 96 spectators were crushed to death during a match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield (ENG) in a crowd surge caused by police who attempted to ease crowding outside the stadium by opening a gate into part of the stadium.

Since the 2019-20 season, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA), the regulatory body responsible for ensuring the safety of spectators in sports venues, has been overseeing the trial of the 'rail seating system' that some clubs have been authorised to install. This process makes it possible to lock the seats in a raised position…