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UEFA ORGANISATION: Learning from the past

/noticias.info/ The events of the past have taught a hard lesson to UEFA that safety and security at football matches must never be neglected.

Never rest on laurels
Delegates at the latest UEFA workshop on stadium security in Nyon were told that disasters such as Heysel and Bradford in 1985, and Hillsborough four years later, had ensured that UEFA would never rest on its laurels in this specific field of its activities. "Safety should not be taken for granted," UEFA national associations director Jacob Erel told representatives of invited UEFA member associations. "Never say 'never', because anything may happen, even in a very minor match. [Events such as Heysel] were a tough lesson for everybody - from that moment, UEFA decided to prepare very carefully and take responsibility and accountability for its events."

Knowledge platform
The three-day workshop is the latest of five organised by UEFA's stadia and security unit, and is being led by the chairman of UEFA's stadia and security committee Michael van Praag. The workshop is funded by UEFA's HatTrick assistance programme, and has the following goals:
• To create a knowledge platform and share best practice among national associations in the key areas of safety and security at matches.
• To explore the latest developments and trends in stadium infrastructure, and to investigate how best to build effective partnerships between stadium management, match organisers, police and authorities, with the aim of providing a safe, secure and service-oriented environment for all those involved in the game.

Safety management practices
Delegates saw film footage of stadium disasters, discussed the mistakes made and highlighted the lessons to be learned. They also looked, among other things, at safety management practices at both UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup matches.

Uniform approach
Erel described the crucial pre-match organisation meetings that are now a feature of UEFA's European competitions as "part of the mental preparation for a match". He also urged delegates not to forget that even the most thorough organisation was subject to the human factor. "Sometimes it is impossible to predict what can happen," he explained. One objective of the UEFA safety and security education programme, Erel said, was to bring about a uniform approach to safety and security throughout Europe.

Friendly environment
"Do not forget as well that we want to have a friendly and inviting environment at matches," Erel added. "We do not like to see games played under heavy security. [But] a lack of security and safety at matches can create a threat to our game. If we are not able to provide these elements, the competence of the sports authorities could be called into question."

Developments and trends
The workshop is also centering on issues such as developments and trends in stadium design and management, as well as effective partnerships between all parties involved in the staging of football matches. All of UEFA's associations will have attended one of the workshops by the time they are completed in February notas_de_prensa_archivo