Football Safety Officers Association Ltd
Working for best practice in safety at sports grounds.

National Administrator
 
Chris PATZELT
FSOA Ltd
PO Box 7482
Alfreton
Derbys
DE55 9BJ

E-mail - fsoaoffice@btconnect.com
Tel / Fax - 0114 288 3366
Or 07799 535876

About the Association

One of the most significant developments since the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 has been the formation of the Football Safety Officer's Association (FSOA).

In the flurry of activity following the Reports of Lord Justice Taylor concerns were raised both by the football authorities and by practitioners themselves that the standards of safety performance varied so greatly from ground to ground. Systems and practices had been evolving locally in a piecemeal and ad hoc fashion and there was very little uniformity.

The FSOA was inaugurated on the 29th October 1992 with the aims of improving safety at football grounds, promulgating best practice, enhancing the role of stewards and continually developing safety officers' expertise

These aims have been further developed to enhance the role of safety management at all sporting venues and the status of the safety officer within the football industry.

During 1995/6, Association members worked together with the football authorities to produce a sophisticated multimedia training package for stewarding at football grounds, the Football Stewards Qualification (FSQ). That training package has now been taken up by many other sports and events, and is effectively the Event Stewards Qualification.

We have developed a training course for Safety Officers - the Event and Match Day Safety Management Course (EMDSMC).

In 2002 the Association became a more professional body by forming a Limited Company and opening a full time office, appointing a full time Administrator.

The next stage will be to amend the name of the Association we will become the Federation of Sportgrounds Safety Officers Association, to reflect the growth of membership from all sports, and to pre-empt the widening of the remit of the Football Licensing Authority.

Membership

From an initial gathering of 28, the FSOA membership has grown to over 200 members.
Our members, in the main are Safety Officers, Stadium Managers and Operations Managers at their sports venues.

All English and Welsh professional football clubs are represented, with representatives of the football authorities, local authorities, stewarding companies, major Scottish and Irish football clubs, rugby union and league clubs, English cricket, Racecourses and consultants and academics.

Full membership is open to those who have successfully completed the Event and Match Day Safety Management Course (EMDSMC) and are employed as Safety Officers, Deputy Safety Officers, or Assistant Safety Officers at Sports venues.

Associate membership is open to those employed as Safety Officers, Deputy Safety Officers, or Assistant Safety Officers at Sports venues who have not yet successfully completed the Event and Match Day Safety Management Course (EMDSMC).
Affiliate membership is open to anyone associated with the responsibility for safety at sports stadia. Examples would include the Football Association, the Premier League, the Football League, the Football Licensing Authority, Football Foundation, the Rugby League, English Cricket, and Officers of Local Authorities with responsibility for safety at sports venues, any other organisations that have a common interest in safety at sports venues.

Corporate membership is available on application to other bodies or from companies involved in safety at sports venues. This may include suppliers of goods and services to the employers of Full members.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) shall scrutinise all such offers and applications, and the applicant must demonstrate their objectives and reasons for seeking corporate membership. The NEC will make all decisions on Corporate Membership.

Corporate members will be required to support the Association by sponsoring a monthly newsletter by adding a flyer and paying production and mailing costs, by providing at least one editorial feature, and will have the opportunity to exhibit their products at the AGM or Bi-annual meeting subject to the cost for an exhibition stand.

What next?

* The Association intends to expand membership to those with responsibility for safety at all sports venues, not only in the UK but also abroad.

* We have already assisted the French, Japanese, and Portuguese Football Associations with safety issues and stewards training, and have been approached by the Turkish Government for assistance in the field of sports ground safety.

* We have developed a secure website for our members, fsoa.org.uk, and seek to develop that website as an advertising tool.

* We seek to expand our Corporate Membership and develop working partnerships, giving service providers and suppliers the chance to directly market their products and services to our members.

* We have two national conferences each year at which companies can receive the opportunity to exhibit and meet our members.

* These conferences are supplemented by at least three meetings of each of our regions every year.

* By sponsoring an issue of our monthly newsletter, which is issued to all our members, service providers and suppliers can directly market their products and services to our members.