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The purpose of the Convention is to ensure that football and other sports events provide a safe, secure and welcoming environment for all individuals through the implementation of an integrated approach on safety, security and service at sports events by a plurality of actors working in a partnership amid an ethos of co-operation.

To guarantee a welcoming atmosphere inside and outside stadiums, the Convention commits signatory States’ authorities to:

• encourage public agencies and private stakeholders (local authorities, police, football clubs and national federations, and supporters) to work together in the preparation and running of football matches;
• ensure that stadium infrastructure complies with national and international standards and regulations, for effective crowd management and safety; emergency and contingency plans must be drawn up, tested and refined in the course of regular joint exercises;
• ensure that spectators feel welcome and well-treated throughout events, including by making stadiums more accessible to children, the elderly and people with disabilities and improving sanitary and refreshment facilities.

A number of measures are also envisaged to prevent and punish acts of violence and misbehaviour, including stadium bans, sanctions procedures in the country where the offence is committed or in the offender’s country of residence or citizenship, or restrictions on travelling abroad to football events. States signing up to the Convention undertake to step up international police co-operation by designating a national football information point within the police force (NFIP) to facilitate exchanges of information and personal data in connection with international football matches.

This convention will ultimately replace the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sport Events and in particular at Football Matches (ETS No. 120), drawn up in 1985 in the wake of the Heysel tragedy.

The committee of experts tasked with monitoring application of the 1985 Convention produce assessments, before and after major international tournaments (World Cup, European Championships), of the safety measures taken. FIFA, UEFA, the European Professional Football Leagues Association, Football Supporters Europe, Supporters Direct Europe and also Interpol and the European Union participate in its work.

• Recommendation on Safety, Security and Service at Football Matches and other Sports Events.
• European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular at Football Matches (ETS No. 120).
• Anti-Doping Convention (ETS No. 135).
• Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions (CETS No. 215).
• Translations sorted by non-official languages.
• Note for information - Accession to the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events by a State which is not a member of the Council of Europe.

• Directorate General of Democracy - Sport Conventions