As more and more young supporters find themselves excluded from football due to astronomical admission prices, not to mention limited ticket availability, there’s a good chance that the next generation of match going fans will be lost to the game forever. So could the introduction of rail seating to English football grounds be the game’s last chance to cater for new supporters before it’s too late?
In March members of the Liverpool unofficial supporters union, Spirit of Shankly, travelled to Parkhead to see first-hand just how rail seating works at Celtic’s home games and initial reports suggest the findings were positive; an important step seeing as the subject of standing at Anfield is probably more sensitive than anywhere else in the country.
Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion have also made it clear that they would be more than happy to pilot a similar scheme at The Hawthorns while Shrewsbury Town are in the process of becoming the first club in the country to introduce standing sections at their New Meadow stadium, with Northampton Town looking to follow suit.
That’s probably because, despite the safety and comfort that new stadiums have brought with them, all-seater grounds surely have to take much of the blame for the fact that the modern day football supporter is often well into their 40s and has seen and done it all when it comes to watching their team and going to the match.
Whereas 30 years ago a 14-year-old could pay considerably less to stand next to a full paying adult newer and re-developed stadia have meant that a seat has now become a valued commodity which comes at a price – usually the higher the better as far as the clubs are concerned, which only a certain section of society can afford.
Of course, if it were to be introduced, so-called “safe standing” wouldn’t herald the return of the old style, overcrowded and often unsafe terraces of the past. Nobody has said it would and most who experienced those times will be glad of that fact. “At no point did I or others feel uncomfortable or unsafe.” explained Chair of Spirit of Shankly Group Jay McKenna after his recent visit to Glasgow.
But what it might do is allow supporters to watch football in a way they have not been able to do for almost three decades. And while there is little evidence to suggest that rail seating would increase stadium capacity or even bring about a reduction in ticket prices, any section of “safe standing” dedicated purely to younger fans might just allow like-minded supporters of a similar age to stand together, shoulder-to-shoulder, while enjoying the game as one, with their friends, in the same way that terraces did.
Football is an emotional bond, formed by experiences from an early age and if that connection is broken, it’s highly unlikely it will ever be formed again and the fact youngsters aren’t able to gain access to matches means that these fans of the future are all-to-often sacrificed in the interest of occasional match goers or football tourists.
So much so that Manchester United have recently announced that they will be introducing youth tickets priced at £15 each for 18-25-year-olds at Old Trafford from the start of the 2018/19 Premier League campaign.
As anyone who regularly attends games will know, there’s no substitute for being at the match. The sights, the smells, the sounds, and similarly, to a young child who is more inclined to pick-up a language or learn to swim at an early age, the same could also be said for their love when it comes to football. After all; if there is no now, there can be no tomorrow.
Discourage young fans from going to top-flight football and ultimately you end up with a generation of “customers” only following their side out of a passive interest due to well-executed marketing campaigns or global TV exposure, rather than a genuine, unconditional love of a team - here today and possibly gone tomorrow.
And it’s not as though the warning signs weren’t there. As the ink was still drying on Lord Justice Taylor’s post Hillsborough report which ultimately lead to the restructuring of our football grounds as we know them, sports journalist Ian Hargraves had no doubts about what the implementation of his recommendations would do to the game in the long-run.
Writing in The Liverpool ECHO he claimed: “If and when Lord Taylor’s report is fully implemented, it will mark one of the greatest social changes to hit this country since World War Two. Instead of being the traditional sport of the masses, British soccer will effectively be infiltrated by yuppies, who can afford what are likely to be greatly increased prices for admission.”
Of course safety at football matches should never be compromised and most of the changes we have seen implemented since the 1990s have been nothing but positive; providing a friendlier and more inviting atmosphere in which to watch the game and in the process making football more appealing to fans across the social spectrum regardless of age, race or gender.
But despite a certain group of well-known youngsters disproving the theory that, “you’ll win nothing with kids,” a couple of decades ago when it comes to achievements on the pitch; off the field the future looks a pretty bleak place without them, and that’s why the possible introduction of rail seating might just be the perfect opportunity to look to the future.
