Premier League And Police Forge £10m Partnership

The Premier League has entered a new multi-year partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) aimed at strengthening matchday safety and improving the experience of supporters across England. Announced on Wednesday, the agreement includes up to £10 million of Premier League investment to trial new technologies and operational models with police forces in key footballing regions.

The collaboration builds on longstanding work between the League and the UK Football Policing Unit, with both organisations emphasising their shared goal of creating safer, more enjoyable matchdays. A series of pilot schemes will launch next year in London, Merseyside and the West Midlands, each designed to test innovative approaches to crowd management and public safety.

Among the pilots are drone deployments in the West Midlands to improve situational awareness around stadiums, AI-driven data modelling in Merseyside to better understand crowd behaviour, and live intelligence-led facial recognition trials in London to identify serious offenders attempting to access matches. Police and League officials say the projects will be evaluated carefully to determine how they can support safer delivery of major sporting events and potentially inform best practice across the country.

Alongside the new partnership, the Premier League has already committed an additional £3 million to national fan-experience initiatives, including improvements to stewarding.

Clare Sumner, Chief Policy and Social Impact Officer at the Premier League, said: “The experience and safety of our fans is a key priority, and the Premier League is committed to making our stadia as welcoming as possible for everyone."

“The Premier League recognises the significant contribution that police forces make to the safety of Premier League fans, both on match days and more broadly in the communities that our Clubs are at the heart of. I am pleased that this partnership will take our collaboration further, building an even stronger relationship between the Premier League and police.”

Chief Constable Mark Roberts, national lead for football policing, described the initiative as globally unprecedented. “This is a positive joint approach between policing, the Premier League and Clubs to deliver safe and secure football events for supporters and the general public. It enables us to develop technologies that will assist us in our joint efforts and I cannot think of any similar initiative anywhere else in the world. The additional benefit is that it will allow us to develop national capability which is transferable to other areas of policing and public safety.”

Sarah Jones MP, Minister of State for Policing and Crime, also welcomed the partnership, saying: “Every fan deserves to feel safe when they go to the game, so I welcome the Premier League working with the police to use cutting-edge technology at match days. By working together, we can ease pressure on officers, while improving public safety.”

The programme will be overseen by a senior leadership group chaired by Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, bringing together senior figures from UK policing and the Premier League. Local pilots will be shaped collaboratively by police forces, Premier League clubs and fan groups as the projects move forward.

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