A team of Council of Europe experts carried out a monitoring visit to the United Kingdom, from 17th to 19th September 2026, to assess the general approach to the organisation of football matches and other sports events and to support the UK authorities in the effective implementation of the safety, security and service standards set out in the Saint-Denis Convention, to which the United Kingdom has been a party since 1 December 2023. This visit was organised as part of the preparations for the UEFA EURO 2028 men’s European Football Championship, which will be co-hosted with Ireland.
The monitoring team comprised representatives from Portugal (the President of the Saint-Denis Committee and its gender equality rapporteur), Greece (Vice-President of the Saint-Denis Committee and rapporteur for this visit), Poland (security expert), as well as observers from UEFA, Portugal, Italy and Football Supporters Europe (FSE).
The monitoring team was welcomed by the Director-General for Sport at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and had the opportunity to meet with all relevant public and private stakeholders, including the Home Office, the DCMS, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA), the police (the UKFPU unit, which hosts the National Football Information Point, and the Metropolitan Police), the emergency services, officials from Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Surrey County Cricket Club, as well as the national football supporters’ organisation (FSA) and the NGO Level Playing Field, which works on inclusion and access for fans with disabilities. A specific session was also held on the preparations for UEFA EURO 2028 with the different stakeholders involved.
Visits were organised to different sports venues, including Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – which will be one of the venues of UEFA EURO 2028 – and ‘The Oval’ (Surrey County Cricket Club). The team also attended the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, which took place on 19th September 2026 in London.
This visit was carried out in accordance with the Monitoring Guidelines of the Saint-Denis Convention. The findings, recommendations and good practices identified will be included in a report to be adopted by the Saint-Denis Committee and forwarded to the UK authorities for implementation.
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