Safe standing at football matches in Wales "could be introduced if the responsibility of sports ground safety management is devolved to the Welsh Assembly," according to the PA. Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew RT Davies has "long led the calls for a safe standing pilot in Wales and believes the plan could become reality if the U.K. Government transferred stadium safety powers." Davies has discussed the idea of safe standing with U.K. Sports Minister Tracey Crouch and "will write to her formally requesting the transfer of powers to the Welsh Assembly." The introduction of safe standing has the backing of the Football Supporters' Federation and the Supporters' Trusts of the four main professional clubs in Wales -- Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham -- and a report published last February showed that 96% of 2,364 fans surveyed "backed a pilot to trial modern stadium technology." Davies: "Our plans would allow a limited pilot of safe standing areas in Welsh grounds." He said that a pilot scheme in Wales "would address the concerns of sceptics and build a case for safe standing areas to be rolled out throughout U.K. stadia, akin to those on the continent." Davies said, "Safe standing is a question of fairness. How can it be safe to stand at a rugby match or a concert yet somehow inherently unsafe to stand at the football -- often in the same stadiums?" (PA, 1/4).
