Standing up (or sitting down) for the Clarets
Last week we ran a short poll on the message board and also on the site’s Twitter account asking if you preferred to sit or stand at football and whether you were in favour of the introduction of safe standing.
It didn’t attract a massive number of voters, but that was never expected. What it did show was the huge support there is for safe standing to be introduced at grounds in England. Whether it was those who preferred to sit or stand, 96% of the Twitter voters were in favour and on the message board it was slightly lower at around 94%.
It came as no surprise and the subject of safe standing, whilst always an important issue, has had its profile raised even more recently because of the refusal to allow West Bromwich Albion to install 3,600 rail seats for next season to enable them to trial this type of safe standing for both home and away supporters at the Smethwick End.
It prompted a petition to be launched asking the Government to allow Premier League and Championship football clubs to introduce safe standing. That petition, at the time of writing had received in excess of 91,000 signatures.
If you haven’t signed it and wish to then please SIGN THIS PETITION and help push the numbers even higher.
This article, however, is not just about signing a petition but setting up and organising a group of Burnley supporters who might be keen to get involved with helping push for safe standing to be installed at Turf Moor.
It’s a subject I’m passionate about on a personal basis and I’ve worked alongside the Football Supporters’ Federation with the websites I’ve been involved with over the years. Recently, I was involved in some informal talks with members of the Huddersfield Town Supporters’ Association who themselves are part of a group of their supporters called Stand Up for Town. Their aims are to:
- Establish the position and interest of the various stakeholders in the John Smith’s Stadium
- Persuade these stakeholders to accept the case for safe standing/rail seating
- Work together with these stakeholders to develop a practical proposal for the introduction of a section of rail seating in the John Smith’s Stadium.
This subject was discussed last night, and at length, at a meeting of the Burnley FC Supporters’ Groups and it was very much considered that it was the right move for a similar group to that at Huddersfield to come into being at Burnley.
Such a group would not be a BFCSG group, nor would it be an Up the Clarets group, although both organisations would be very keen on being involved. The way we saw it was that it needed to be a group of Burnley supporters who represent the wider fan base. That would mean older supporters, I suppose I have to include myself in that group. Without doubt it would involve younger supporters who prefer to stand, probably none more so than those who are trying to improve the Turf Moor atmosphere in the cricket field stand.
It’s a group that would initially need to evaluate the support for safe standing among Burnley supporters and if it were favourable then to act as the group to help push this forward both nationally with other clubs’ groups and with our own club.
There is no urgent timescale for this. It’s a long term effort but BFSCG have asked Up the Clarets to facilitate this in the immediacy by determining which Burnley supporters have an interest in joining such a group.
By facilitate, that means, at this time, using the current site email address. If you have an interest in joining such a group, can you please EMAIL Up the Clarets giving your reasons why you would wish to join and what you believe you could offer such a group.
And hopefully, you could eventually be Standing up (or sitting down) for the Clarets.
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