786 The title of my presentation is

“How COVID-19 has affected Football Stadiums

From a Health and Safety Perspective”
by

Presenter: Aftab Parwaz

Role: Health & Safety Advisor

Employer: Aston Villa Football Club

_______________________________________________________

Introduction: -
 The COVID-19 pandemic, has taken the world by a storm, causing distress all
areas of our life - and therefore sports is no exception. The goal is everyone’s
safety during this storm. (and good new is no storm last for ever)
 Matches and competitions are being cancelled or postponed, Even the
Summer Olympics, one the world’s most-watched sporting broadcasts, has
been postponed to 2021.
 Disrupting governing bodies, organisers, teams, players and fans. (All alike)
 Therefore In the workplace, health and safety policy and protocols need to
set out ,the dos and don’ts of how to operate in the storm of coronavirus-
altered landscape.
 As All Employers have “a duty of care” to ensure a safe environment for their
employees and, in this case,
it means clubs carrying out Risk Assessments of their facilities, educating their
players and staff members about them, and therefore mitigating against them
catching the virus or passing it on to somebody else.
 The Clubs around the world, like Aston Villa, the broadcasters, and sponsors
are having to navigate the impacts and implications of event cancellations and
modifications.
Assessment:
The management are in the unknown - unknown arena, thus postulating
various questions: -
1. How to manage business operations, fan expectations, minimise
disruption, and plan for a future (both the short and long term)?
2. How to retain engagement with fans, during league operations?
3. How to mitigate the potential legal and insurance challenges like
potential civil and/or criminals’ litigations or fines?

What it become so controversial?

Some players have took it, as a sign-your-life-away waiver that could remove
recourse to legal action in the event they catch the virus at work and their
careers/future earnings are affected.
Consequently, they have been wary of it and, in some cases, hesitant to sign.
Nothing should be signed without full understanding so The Union (PFA) have
to understand them and reassure the players.

In a worst-case scenario, if a player / staff caught the virus and tried to sue for
negligence or breach of health and safety in the workplace, the clubs will need
to defend all such claims

 Hence the Stadiums must, follow the advice of government, plus that
of their regulatory body;
 they would have carried out bespoke Corvid-19 Risk Assessments, and
put protocols and procedures in place, educating staff and visitors , got
people to sign it off.
 The Stadium are expected to be “as far as is reasonably practicable” to
ensure safety.
Challenges:
The COVID-19 exceptional situation is putting stress and strain on
stadiums, as managements are having to: -
1. maintain their owed duty of care (pursuant to Section 2 HSWA
1974) to ensure, within the bounds of reasonable practicability,
the health, safety and welfare of their employees.
2. must Uphold (Section 3) their duty with regard to non-employees,
which would include the general public (spectators), contactors/
the Police (neighbours) .
3. Uphold (Regulations 3, 5 and 8 MHSWR 1999)specifically to risk
assessment, Health and Safety arrangements (planning,
organisation, control, monitoring, review) and procedures for
forthcoming danger.
4. Appealing to fans to return to stadiums and venues with the
threat of additional outbreaks and societal uncertainty.
5. Asking players to return to training and competition when they
may rather be with family or friends.
6. Ensuring that relationships between players and fans are
protected.
7. Resuming operations, having suffered significant financial losses
and with an uncertain future financial situation.
8. Asking employees to return to work, when they still may be
uncomfortable being in large groups or may offer to work
remotely if possible.
These are some of the challenges facing the stadiums management
If “ Challenges are what makes life interesting -
Than “Overcoming them is what makes it meaningful”

To conclude my presentation, I like to suggest

The Way Forward:

In these difficult times,

the ability of Football to bring people together is missed more than ever.

Therefore, The Football Stadiums, as far as is reasonably practicable,

 Should be working in collaboration Local Authorities, HSE

Environmental Health and the Police. Work as team
The sports industry need to define the three dimensions of crisis
management: respond, recover, and thrive.

 appoint a Covid-19 officer to lead on Covid-19 risk assessments

and policy developments and to lead on case management of
suspected cases.
 Commission a bespoke Covid-19 Risk Assessment pursuant to
Government published four sports-specific guidance documents.

 Get ready to potentially play without fans for a while,

 Prepare for more outbreaks and restrictions.

Because Proper Planning prevents poor performance.

 Think through a comeback plan, and hope for the day when
teams once again take the field, and the business of sports
becomes joyful, business as usual…
Behinds every Goal there is a thought.
and this were my thoughts - Thank you
Aston Willa Ltd £50.885M profit 2018
Sold land and property o to NSWE stadium Ltd member of Recon group UK

4 Directors Mr J Xia N Swariris Mr Edens Mr Purslow

The football season resulted in final league place 5th compared to previous
season where 4th place finish in English Football League championship was
achieved.
The 5th finish meant the club for English Football league championship play and
subsequently gained promotion to premier league.
2020 competing in premium league season.
Body Moor Heath training grounds HS2.

The potential long-term impact:

The sports arena, governing bodies, competition organisers, clubs, owners/investors, Sports
Professionals, broadcasters, sponsors, suppliers, and supporters can expect impacts across multiple
organisational and strategic pillars:

Competitions and calendars. Postponement, cancellation and expungement of events and

competitions looks set to radically alter the sports calendar over the coming years, with innovative
changes to existing formats looking likely in a number of sports.

Operating models. Disruption will push some organisations to transition to new operating models
that they may have already been considering. Others will be forced to adapt - whether they’ve been
planning to or not, whilst many will see this as an opportunity to transform.

Commercial relationships. How can ecosystem members support and strengthen relationships with
broadcasters, sponsors, and partners amid the difficult legal and financial implications of an abrupt
shutdown?

Fan engagement. How will teams, owners, and sponsors re-think the fan experience? What does
“fan experience” mean if there are no fans in the stands? Will the shutdown increase focus on virtual
one-to-one relationships and “closing the last mile”?

Investment. Given the exposure and liquidity issues of the rapid shutdown, should organisations
and individual investors be diversifying their portfolios across regions or leagues? Or is it the time to
prepare for future acquisitions? Consideration could be given to alternative sources of finance which
help to safeguard the sport in the short term, without compromising the medium to long term
future of the sport.

Digital Workplace. Giving a remote workforce access to scalable, secure, virtual systems may require
new investments in digital, technological, and cyber services.

Arenas and Venues. How does the current crisis affect the needs of arenas and stadiums? Can
venues be used to support the response of governments and society to COVID-19? How can venues
be better utilised, including for new and different content, in the future? What happens if we must
continue without crowds?

The Way forward:

The management boards of stadiums should be working in collaboration with government agenises
and other stake holders need to plan:-

1. to reduce the impact of losses from cancelled games and events?

2. can we best serve our broadcasters and sponsors at this time?
3. How do we maintain fan enthusiasm without live matches, tournaments, or events?
4. How do we best prepare to serve the demands of fans, sponsors and broadcasters when
restrictions are lifted?
5. How do we utilise this ‘down-time’ to best plan and prepare for the future?
6. How will likely restrictions on international travel impact on the ability to stage multi-nation
sporting events? What can be done now to mitigate against such restrictions?
7. How does this crisis allow organisations to reset the financial ecosystem that underpins their
sport and create more resilience for the future?
8. How will COVID-19 impact on the regulation of sport, including sporting, operational and
financial aspects?
9. Is there an opportunity to capitalise on remote work? For example, could shared back offices
efficiently support multiple teams within a league, or even multiple leagues?
10. How can we review insurance policies to assess, quantify, and document losses from
cancelled events and other business disruptions related to COVID-19?
11. If insurance policies provide insufficient coverage, is any contractual relief available?
12. What can we be doing to support the wider governmental and societal response to COVID-
19?
1. relating to social distancing that's been created in accordance with government
guidelines to safeguard the well-being of all staff and people who visit that everybody
who visits works and exit
2. our sites are kept safe at all times with on the site supervisor for Co vid to manage
everything on site to do with covert 19
3. to use a sight car park social distancing once you've parked -have the 2 meter guidance
for social distancing

4. new sign that reminds everybody to self screen if you are showing symptoms of the
virus you must not enter site and you must notify your Co vid 19

5. cleaning station inside it is mandatory

6. possible please try and make walkways
7. one way everyone entering site must report to
8. 03:41
9. the Covid-19 supervisor
10. + screening
 RIDDOR: REPORTING: (a) Describe the circumstances that would require an employer to report a fire-related
incident under the Reporting of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995. (b) Outline the process the
employer should follow when reporting a fire-related incident AND to whom the employer should make the report. a)An
employer would be required to report under RIDDOR if the fire has resulted in;
11. 1) Fatality or major injuries e.g. fracture, amputation, loss of sight etc. 2) An injury or ill health due to which an employee is
away from work or unable to resume his normal work duties for more than 3 days. 3) Dangerous occurrence such
as explosion etc which has suspended the operations far more than 24 hours. B) In case of a fatality or major injury or
hospitalization more than 24 hours, the employer must; 1) Notify the incident immediately to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or local
authorities through Incident Contacts Centre by telephone or other quickest mean.2) Follow up by completing a form F2508 within 10 days
In case of an over 3 days injury or dangerous occurrence the employer must report the same at Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or local
authorities by completing F2508 within 10 days.