A two-day taster course on non-footballing events at sports stadiums ran recently for Football Safety Officers to broaden their crowd management skills. This was by Showsec, the crowd security contractor that partners with the Football Safety Officers Association (FSOA).
The main aim of the course was to work on skills and expertise FSOA members possess in terms of matchday operations. To increase revenue streams, clubs are expanding on matchday activities with other events. The two-day crowd management course presented modules featuring all the planning and operational procedures geared to public safety.
Chris Patzett, Safety Officer at the Riverside Stadium, home of Championship football club Middlesbrough, said: “These were two fantastic days which gave a tremendous insight into the management of a music event at a stadium. Even though I have worked at various stadia in football for more than 30 years, I got a huge amount of additional knowledge from the course.”
Those views of the taster course were echoed by Tony Smallman, a Chartered Health and Safety Practitioner who works for Halifax. “It is clear this is a highly specialised area and that you need to consider the dynamics completely differently to that of a football/rugby stadium. I personally found this to be a fantastic insight into the subject area and look forward to hearing more about the future course.”
And Keith Hackett, Showsec’s Learning and Development Manager, said: “As part of our close association with the FSOA, we set up this taster course for the benefit of their members to gauge the interest and to gain some valuable feedback. We are delighted that it was so well received and offered constructive responses which will help us to shape what we do moving forwards.” Our experience and expertise in a wide range of events can help sports clubs to plan for such occasions and then deliver them in a safe and secure way as they endeavour to increase their revenue streams through such activities.”
The 12 on the course were: former FSOA chairman John Rutherford (Sheffield Wednesday), Chris Patzett (Middlesbrough), Gary Stephenson (Middlesbrough), Richard Stanford (Wycombe Wanderers), Bryan Lawton (Oldham Athletic), Michelle Gauntlet (Crewe Alexandra), Sally Lee (Manchester City), Tony Smallman (Halifax), Cliff Edens (Burnley), Russell George (West Bromwich Albion), Paul Lewis (Leicester City) and Malcolm Whitt (Notts County).
The FSOA autumn conference is on October 15, at Staverton Park, Daventry, Northamptonshire.
