Liverpool to apply for Anfield safe standing licence
Liverpool is to apply for a safe-standing licence as the club increases rail seating at Anfield to 13,300.
The initiative has been trialled successfully by several Premier League clubs over the past two years.
Liverpool installed 7,800 rail seats in the summer of 2021 and a further 2,500 during last season’s World Cup break.
Another 3,000 will be added this summer, meaning Anfield will have safe-standing sections in the Kop and the newly redeveloped Anfield Road end.
The latter will open for the 2023-24 season, taking the ground’s capacity to 61,000.
The rail seats to be installed this summer will all be in the Kop, taking its total to 7,425 – about 55% of the famous stand’s capacity.
Liverpool has plans to add more in the Kop next year.
Enforcement recommendations from the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) state that stadiums with rail seating for more than two years must apply for a licence.
Six Premier League clubs currently have a licence – Brentford, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Wolves.
Newcastle United will trial safe standing at St James’ Park from the start of the 2023-24 season.
“Following an extensive review of our rail seating trial we’re delighted to confirm it has been successful and is now a permanent feature at Anfield Stadium,” said Liverpool managing director Andy Hughes.
“The health and safety of our supporters when attending matches at Anfield is, and always will be, paramount.”
Concerns over “persistent standing” by supporters in the Kop and Anfield Road stands were highlighted in a 2021 review by the SGSA.
Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge became the first top-flight stadium to allow licensed standing in almost 30 years as part of a trial in January 2022.
Since 1994, grounds in the first and second tiers of the English football pyramid have been required by law to be all-seater.
That followed a recommendation of the Taylor Report following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, when 97 fans died following a crush.
However, after new guidance from the SGSA, rail seating has been developed at some grounds to provide seats that can be converted to standing areas when desired.
Liverpool wrote to all the families of the Hillsborough victims before installing the first rail seats at Anfield.