Since the disaster in 1995 at Bradford's Valley Parade when 56 supporters lost their lives, and the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 96 supporters also died, the standard of safety at English football grounds has improved enormously.

Prior to the Bradford fire, Groundsman Ian Darler (pictured) was the only person with a key to the exit gates in the stadium.

Ten minutes before the end of each match he would walk around the stadium and unlock the gates to allow supporters out.  Had he been taken ill or been unavailable to unlock nobody would have got out of the ground.

Obviously in an emergency situation this does not bear thinking about, so what has changed over the years?

The quality of stewarding: all stewards are trained to the Football Steward Qualification (F.S.Q).  This covers eight modules and is similar to an N.V.Q..
 
The modules consist of introduction to stewarding, general responsibilities, maintenance of a safe environment, response to spectators, emergency first aid, basic fire awareness, contingency and evacuation training, and finally dealing with racism and disability.

All Nationwide League clubs along with the Premier League have adopted this package, so if we have visiting stewards working here at the Abbey they have all been trained to the FSQ standard.

Stewards Receive their N.V.Q.s

The pre-match briefing covers any variations between stadium layouts and codes and all stewards now carry a gate key, so if 80 stewards are on duty today 80 keys will be available and could, if required, open the gates.

To avoid the tragic situation which occurred at Bradford, when supporters are inside the stadium most exit gate locks are off the gate and - as you may have read in previous articles - the medical side is top class and ready to deal with most medical situations.

The club have to be alert every match day.  Regular inspections are carried out by the Football Licensing authority, the Football League Crowd Management team and Trading Standards, who are responsible for issuing the Safety Certificate. 

Representatives from each of these organisations attend various fixtures throughout the season and inspect our safety equipment, staff, facilities and paperwork and ensure that the Ground Regulations are displayed throughout the stadium and that they are adhered to.

If you are interested in becoming a steward at the Abbey Stadium, please contact Ian Darler or Lisa Wade on (01223) 566500.