ESSMA Safety & Security Workshop at Telia Parken and Brøndby Stadium: the Highlights

This year’s Safety & Security Workshop was organised at Telia Parken and Brøndby Stadium. Over 55 members from 14 countries learned insights and shared knowledge related to crowd management, stewarding, pyrotechnics and new technologies.

Day 1 - Telia Parken

To kick off the Safety & Security Workshop, Ken Scott - Head of Inspectorate at SGSA - presented the recently launched 6th edition of the Green Guide. Key points of his presentation focused on the external environment, people leaving the stadium, smart stadiums & CCTV,  educating fans and securing fan zones. 

Next, Leif Bjørn - Head of Security at Telia Parken - shared the FC København dedicated system for fans during away matches. The system allows to collect information about their fans and is used as a safety check to know if a fan is allowed to enter the stadium or not. Currently, over 35.000 fans are registered FCK Away members. 

In addition, Jacques Le Mene - Security Officer at the French Tennis Federation - highlighted how they adapted their crowd management and security approach at Roland Garros after the 2015 attacks in Paris. 

Part two of the day focused on stewarding. Joris De Lange - Matchday Operations & Security Manager at AFC Ajax - shared the stewarding approach at the Johan Cruijff Arena and how they deal with challenges the club faces in terms of attracting and retaining stewards. In addition, all delegates took part in a group discussion where the main topics focused on steward attraction, training and retention.

To wrap-up Day 1, Leif Bjørn showed participants around Telia Parken.

Day 2 - Brøndby Stadium

On Day 2, Lasse Bauer - SLO at Brøndby IF - shared the club’s fan strategy and their efforts to decrease the amount of high risk matches. Over the past years they went from 20 high risk matches to 5 to 6 matches per year.   

Furthermore, David Lewis - Head of Security and Stadium Safety Officer at Everton FC - explained to participants how their CCTV system assists with the investigation of offences inside the stadium and how they collaborate with the police to identify the culprits. 

Regarding pyrotechnics, Dr. Tom Smith highlighted the key takeaways of UEFA’s pyrotechnics in stadiums report. The main message to share with your stadium staff and the players is to move away from pyro, leave it alone and let it burn out before safely removing it from the pitch.

Moreover, Francesco Gianello - Head of Stadium at Juventus and new ESSMA Advisory Member - presented matchday security at Allianz Stadium. Participants learned more about Juventus’ stewarding model, matchday preparation and operations. At Allianz Stadium there are 114 cameras, 76 turnstiles, 42 walk-through metal detectors and 67 hand-held metal detector devices and over 500 steward to ensure a safe matchday experience. 

The Safety & Security Workshop concluded with a stadium tour around Brøndby Stadium guided by Tom Larsen - Head of Security.

Go to our ESSMA Flickr account for more pictures.
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