Frequenty Asked Questions

What’s the club’s stance on all this?

The Stand United campaign has supported the club’s Football Advisory Board throughout 2024/25 in its meetings with the club on installing safe standing in areas of Bramall Lane. Ahead of the April FAB meeting, we worked with the FAB on a proposal put to the club on taking this forward on the Kop. The club has considered some of the ongoing costs around stewarding in areas of persistent standing on the Kop, and now considers safe standing a more immediate and viable soluton. It is seeking input from the FAB regarding the placement of safe standing, should the decision be made to implement it.

Previously, in an interview on Radio Sheffield’s Football Heaven in March 2024, CEO Stephen Bettis updated supporters on the club’s position with respect to safe standing: "We're completely supportive of safe standing and obviously like the idea of it, we’re aware our supporters would embrace it as well…but we won't do it until we redevelop a stand. When we do that we'll definitely incorporate safe standing into that stand."

Which clubs have safe standing in England?

In 2021/22, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Cardiff City all took part in the first safe standing trials in the top two divisions. Since safe standing was licensed in 2022, more have followed suit in the Premier League and Championship - from 2025/26, a majority of clubs in both the Premier League and the Championship will for the first time have safe standing in place. Check out our Safe Standing Tracker for the latest.

Below the Championship, Shrewsbury Town were the first club in England & Wales to install a safe standing area in 2018 following crowd-funding. As our tracker shows, this isn’t something just for the top two leagues, as clubs across the whole EFL are increasingly adding their own areas.

Are the rows of the Kop too narrow for safe standing to be introduced?

If the Kop was being built today, the current row depth would be unlikely to meet SGSA guidance - it is by modern standards a bit of a squeeze, built on top of the old terracing. The type of rail seating where separate barriers alongside the existing seating may be possible to meet the criteria for a standing licence, but where row space is limited integrated rail seating types, where the seat and rail are integrated as one, could provide safe standing and maximise the space at the same time.

The row depth varies, but is about 670-710mm depending on where on the Kop you measure. There are minimum standards that the SGSA recommend after the installation of independent rails or integrated railseats - if they aren’t met, then a licence for use is unlikely.

The Kop isn’t the only place that rail seating could be trialled, but there are no barriers to introducing it on the Kop - just standards that need to be met in the rail seat option installed.

Safe standing at Shrewsbury - the rail seat design maximises the space for standing on each row

Rail seat Cardiff

Safe standing from our game at Cardiff in 2021 - the independent rail alongside standard seat takes up more room on the row than an integrated all-in-one rail seat

Would safe standing enable United to expand its capacity by having more standing fans than are allowed to be seated?

In short, not under the current regulations - and even if these change in the future, older areas are unlikely to meet requirements.

One of the great potential bonuses of safe standing is the hope that it might be one way of expanding capacity without having to significantly change a stand. That remains a hope in the future for safe standing in the top two divisions, though currently licensed standing via the SGSA does not permit this - these are operating on a like-for-like capacity (i.e. 1 person per rail seat).

Space and rail seat design is also a factor here. If the design hasn’t been carefully thought through, and it doesn’t meet requirements, capacity on a row could actually reduce compared to seated capacity - something crucial to avoid.

Given the challenging spacing on the Kop explained above, even if the regulations are changed in the future to allow more the 1:1, it is very unlikely that a capacity increase could occur there, but may be possible in areas where spacing is less restrictive.

If the Kop is going to be redeveloped or rebuilt anyway eventually with new seating, would installing safe standing be pointless to do now?

Integrated rail seating of the type described above are reusable - be it reinstallable in a new stand, or by a new club if we no longer had use for them. This has already been displayed in Germany.

Adding barriers around existing seating (as some providers such as GL Events offer) can me more cost effective for existing seating in an area like the Kop, though with a product unlikely to be reused if a stand is fully replaced.

Why have some clubs with rail seats in use not yet licensed these as safe standing?

Not all clubs that introduced rail seating immediately applied for a standing license for these areas. Liverpool, for example, introduced rail seating in some areas but opted not to join the safe standing trials during 2021-22 and only brought in a standing licence in August 2023. Clubs may look to save money by delaying the SGSA requirement for a similar proportion of safe standing to be offered to both home and away supporters, but an SGSA change in 2023/24 means that this should only be a temporary move - clubs should now apply to SGSA to operate licensed standing areas within two years of the installation of rail seating. Under the current guidance, unless part of the away end has rail seating this will not be granted a standing area licence.

Where can I find out more about safe standing?

“Who are ya?”

Stand United is a fan-led campaign aiming to bring safe standing to Bramall Lane. It works alongside existing United fan groups, is an Associate member of the Football Supporters Association, is self-funded, and is entirely dependent on good will from Unitedites. It was founded in 2021 by United fan Joseph Clift. If you would like to be involved in the campaign, drop us an email or DM us on Twitter or Bluesky.