Learning together at UEFA's stadium and security conference

The 2019 UEFA Stadium and Security Conference takes place in Athens this week.

The annual gathering will bring together 350 representatives of UEFA, national football associations, football clubs, police forces, the Council of Europe, the European think tank and other stakeholders for discussions and exchanges on the broad range of security-related issues surrounding the game. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Learning Together’.

This year’s speakers include UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis, Lefteris Avgenakis,Greece’s Deputy Minister of Culture and Sport, Mixalis Chrisochoidis, the Minister for Citizen Protection, and the President of the Hellenic Football Federation, Evangelos Grammenos.

Topics on the agenda include football violence and disorder, integrated match safety and security, and the continuing problem of pyrotechnics. In addition, the conference will discuss the critical questions of controlling stadium safety, and how to keep troublemakers away from the football experience. On that note, the key conclusion from the UEFA Expert Seminar on Football-Related Violence and Disorder held earlier this year, namely that effective exclusion was the single most important factor for tackling football-related violence and disorder across Europe, will again be addressed.

The conference takes place at the start of each new club competition season, and, as such, the delegates will look ahead to match preparation for upcoming UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.

More generally, the event will help participants keep pace with latest developments in stadium safety and security; share experiences and lessons learned from last season; and promote an integrated pan-European approach to security, involving governments, municipal authorities, police, security forces, football authorities, supporters and local communities.