Liverpool To Expand Kop Rail Seating Trial

Liverpool Football Club has announced it is expanding its rail seating trial on the Kop following the installation of the seating last season.

Rail seating has been installed in two areas of Anfield following a safety review by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA).

The review highlighted that during matches persistent standing in the Kop and Anfield Road lower tier is an issue that needs to be addressed to ensure supporters’ safety.

An initial trial saw 7,800 seats with rail seating installed on the Kop and across the lower tier of the Anfield Road Stand. 

Now the club will extend the trial of railed seating on the Kop and will use the winter break of the Premier League season to install an additional 2,500 rail seats.

Work will commence imminently and will take approximately five weeks to install with the expansion taking the total rail seats in the Kop to 4,300. 

The SGSA’s regulatory focus is on reducing persistent standing risks in stadiums and avoiding potential crowd collapses. The report has evidenced that safety rails increase safety within all-seater stadiums.

The seating installed at Anfield includes normal stadium seats with an integrated safety rail behind them to avoid a crowd collapse. The design is to enable fans to stand safely at key moments in the game, like goal celebrations, but must revert to a seat at other times with the club advising fans that this is not a ‘safe standing’ area and Anfield remains an all-seater stadium.

The club has consulted the Supporters Board, in line with its agreed fan-engagement framework, about the extension of railed seating and it provided positive feedback on the initial phase of the pilot. The expansion of railed seating will be reviewed again at the end of the season.

Andy Hughes, managing director at Liverpool FC, said: “Following a review of the initial rail seating trial last season, we will now expand the trial and introduce rail seating in additional areas of the Kop to further address crowd safety and persistent standing in line with SGSA guidance.

“The health and safety of our supporters when attending matches at Anfield is paramount. As we have said before, it is essential that we listen to the experts and deliver their recommendations to address this important safety issue.”