Brighton boss paint ‘bright’ picture for club

Article posted by Coliseum, December 13^th, 2024

Image: American Express Community Stadium, Barbara van Cleve, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fabian Hürzeler, the boss of the Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion, is in favor of the introduction of safe standing at the Amex Stadium in Falmer (UK) and appreciates the club being “open to new things”.

‘BBC SPORT’ stated that ‘The Seagulls’ revealed plans recently to introduce safe standing in the North Stand of the stadium from the start of the 2025-2026 seasons.

The Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England (UK). The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club’s home ground is the Falmer Stadium.

The Falmer Stadium, currently known as the American Express Stadium for sponsorship reasons and more commonly referred to as the Amex, is a football stadium in Falmer, Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, England (UK). With a capacity of 31,876, it is the second- largest stadium in South East England after the 32,384-capacity St. Mary’s Stadium (Southampton) and the 29th largest stadium in the United Kingdom.

‘BBC SPORT’ further stated that the club said the safe standing section would mirror the set up at the 17,250-capacity Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford, England, with a rail installed in front of the seat and the fans will be required to remain in their allocated place during the match.

Safe standing is already in place across a number of leagues in Europe, including in Germany, where Hürzeler previously managed.

Stated Hürzeler, “Honestly, I think it is a great thing. I experienced great atmospheres in the Bundesliga. In German stadiums it is normal some people are standing, especially normal in my former club St Pauli. What I experienced, I don’t know if it is because they are standing or not, but it was great support. Very loud support, very emotional support. It is great that we do it, I really love it. I also really love that we are open to new things, this club shows they are open for new things and to do things in a different way. They like to make decisions like others have not done before. That is something that I really appreciate and that is my thinking and mindset too. So, let’s see how it goes and maybe in two or three years we are sitting here and the whole stadium is standing and this is just the starting point. Let’s see how this develops.”

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