Safe standing trial to begin at Wolves match

Late in 2021, our club – along with Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Cardiff City – was authorised as one of the first top-flight outfits to enable standing in almost three decades.

 

The match against Wolves (17:30 GMT) will be the first game to be played at Old Trafford as part of the new safe standing trial, with 1,519 barrier seats in use within the North East quadrant section (also known as J Stand), plus 571 in the away section.

The designated grounds were selected following a thorough application process last year, which was open to any ground covered by the all-seater policy (the Premier League and the Championship), led by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA).

 

Our 1,519-capacity barrier seating section has been in place since the start of the 2021/22 season, as safety mitigation to persistent standing.

 

Now, barrier seating has also been added to an area of the away section. One of the conditions of the safe standing trial was that away fans would also have access to safe standing.

The introduction of barrier seating and safe standing shows the positive working relationship between the club and its Fans Forum, along with the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST).

 

And if the safe standing trial progresses well during the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign, the club are committed to investigating the potential for installing barrier seating in other areas of the stadium.

 

In November 2021, following confirmation that we would be one of the first five clubs involved in the trial, Chief Operating Officer Collette Roche said safe standing offered more choice and safer solutions for Manchester United supporters.

“We are delighted that Old Trafford will be among the first stadiums in England where safe standing will be trialled from January,” explained Roche. “This follows the successful installation of barrier seating in the north-east quadrant and we will now follow SGSA guidelines that mandate some barrier seating in the away section.

 

“While the majority of the stadium will remain seated, we firmly believe safe standing can create choice and increase safety for fans in areas where persistent standing has historically occurred, and we’ll continue to review the potential to install it in other appropriate parts of the ground.”