Martyn’s Law for Sports Grounds: What You Need to Do
TL;DR
Sports grounds with 200 to 799 people on site (spectators, players, stewards, bar staff, everyone) fall under Martyn’s Law standard tier. Above 800 you’re into enhanced tier instead. You can’t lock down an open terrace, so your procedures need to cover both lockdown for enclosed areas and directed evacuation for the rest. If you work with a Safety Advisory Group and follow the Green Guide, you have a strong starting point. Martyn’s Law adds a counter-terrorism layer on top.
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If your sports ground regularly has between 200 and 799 people present at the same time (spectators, players, officials, stewards, and anyone else on site), it falls under the standard tier of Martyn’s Law. Above 800 you’re into enhanced tier instead, which carries a heavier set of duties beyond the scope of this guide. Standard tier needs public protection procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication.
This guide is for smaller grounds: non-league football clubs, county cricket grounds, rugby clubs, and athletics tracks. The big stadiums are enhanced tier. But a Step 6 football club that pulls 300 on a good Saturday, or a cricket ground that fills up for the annual beer festival, is squarely in scope. Most sports grounds already operate within some kind of safety framework. Most have stewards. Some work with a Safety Advisory Group, especially the larger non-league clubs. If you follow the Green Guide, chapter 17 already covers counter-terrorism. Martyn’s Law adds a layer on top of whatever you’re already doing.
Does Martyn's Law Apply to Sports Grounds?
Sports Grounds fall under Sports grounds (Schedule 1, paragraph 4) of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. If your sports ground regularly has between 200 and 799 people present at the same time, it qualifies as a standard tier premises. At 800 or more, you're into enhanced tier instead, which carries a heavier set of duties.
Standard tier means two duties: notify the SIA that you are a qualifying premises, and put public protection procedures in place covering evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication.
No physical alterations. No equipment to buy. No consultants to hire.
How to Work Out Your Sports ground Capacity
Count everyone present at your busiest regular event: spectators, both squads of players (30 to 40 people), match officials, stewards, bar staff, catering, committee members, programme sellers, and anyone else on site. Don’t forget youth tournament days, which can draw more people than a first-team match when you add parents and siblings.
If your ground has a published capacity from your FA, RFU, or ECB ground grading, that’s a solid starting point. Add staff and non-spectators on top. A ground graded at 400 spectator capacity could easily have 440 or more people present on match day.
For standing areas, the Green Guide uses 2.7 persons per square metre for terracing with crush barriers. Seated areas are a simple count. If you have turnstiles or click counters at the gate, use that data. If you rely on ticket sales, remember to add season ticket holders, complimentary admissions, and everyone who doesn’t come through the main gate.
Not sure where you fall? Use our free capacity calculator to work it out.
Key Challenges for Sports Grounds
Every sports ground is different, but these are the issues that come up most often:
Open-air venues and lockdown
You can’t lock down an open terrace. For most sports grounds, evacuation away from the threat is more realistic than lockdown during a match. But your clubhouse, changing rooms, and any enclosed areas can be locked down. Your procedures should cover both: lockdown for enclosed spaces, and directed evacuation for open areas. Think about which perimeter exits you’d use to move people away quickly.
Volunteer stewards with limited training
At this level, stewards are committee members and retired supporters in hi-vis vests. They’re not SIA-licensed security professionals. That’s fine. The Act doesn’t require qualifications. But they do need to know the procedures, and they need a quick briefing before each match. Keep it to five minutes at the gate before it opens. Printed procedure cards at each steward position help too.
Match-day peaks and quiet periods
Your ground might sit empty for a week, then have 400 people for two hours on a Saturday. Procedures need to be ready to activate at short notice, and the people implementing them may not have thought about security since the last match. A pre-match briefing and a WhatsApp group for stewards keeps everyone sharp.
Perimeter security
Many smaller grounds have a mix of walls, fences, and hedges as their boundary. Some back onto public parks or footpaths. The perimeter is often the weakest point. You don’t need to build a fortress, but you should know where someone could enter without going through the gate, and your stewards should do a visual check of the perimeter before the ground opens.
Non-match events pushing capacity up
The annual presentation evening, a summer beer festival, a fireworks night, or a youth tournament can all push numbers well above a typical match day. If these events happen regularly and bring you over 200, they count. Make sure your procedures cover these events too, not just Saturday fixtures.
Worked Example: Sports ground Procedures
A non-league football ground with a 150-seat main stand, covered terrace behind one goal, open hard standing on two sides, and a clubhouse with bar. Capacity 400. Eight volunteer stewards and four bar/catering staff on match day.
| Procedure | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 440 (400 spectators + 2 squads of 16 + 3 match officials + 8 stewards + 4 bar and catering staff + club secretary) |
| Evacuation | Main gate to the road; emergency exit gate on far side to playing fields behind; clubhouse fire exit to car park. Stewards direct spectators to the exit furthest from the threat. Players and officials exit via the tunnel to changing rooms, then out through the clubhouse rear door. PA system (or loud hailer if no PA) used to direct the crowd. |
| Invacuation | Clubhouse bar and changing rooms (solid walls, lockable doors). Main stand offers partial shelter but is open-fronted. If the threat is outside the ground, spectators in open areas are directed into the clubhouse or behind the covered terrace. Perimeter gates closed. |
| Lockdown | Clubhouse front door locked (bar manager); clubhouse rear door bolted (committee member); changing room external door locked (groundsman); main gate padlocked (gate steward); emergency exit gate padlocked (far-side steward). Clubhouse lights off. Bar shutters down. |
| Communication | WhatsApp group for all stewards and committee members on duty. Gate steward radios or calls the club secretary to coordinate. PA system or loud hailer for spectator announcements. Club secretary calls 999. If PA is not available, stewards use loud, clear verbal instructions from each section of the ground. |
| Training | Pre-season briefing for all stewards (30 minutes covering procedures, exits, shelter areas, communication). Pre-match reminder at the gate before each home fixture (2 minutes). Printed procedure card at each steward position and behind the bar. New stewards get a walkthrough of the ground on their first match. All stewards encouraged to complete ACT Awareness e-learning (free, 45 minutes). |
This is one example. Your procedures should reflect your specific building, layout, and circumstances. Read our full guide to public protection procedures for a detailed breakdown of what to include.
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Your stewards are volunteers. They’re there because they love the club. Keep training short, practical, and respectful of their time. A 30-minute session at the start of the season, a two-minute reminder before each match, and a laminated card at their position is a reasonable approach.
If you work with a Safety Advisory Group, tell them you’re putting procedures in place. They may offer practical advice, and the police representative can share local intelligence about threats or vulnerabilities specific to your area.
Youth tournament days are worth a separate thought. The adults present are mostly parents, not your regular stewards. Whoever organises the tournament should know the procedures. Include a short briefing note in the tournament information pack.
The free ACT Awareness e-learning (45 minutes) is a good baseline for anyone who wants to go further. It covers recognising threats, suspicious items, and what to do during an attack.
Quick Checklist
- Work out your maximum capacity (spectators + staff + players + officials at peak attendance)
- Map all exit routes, including turnstiles, emergency gates, and access tunnels
- List every entry point and how each can be secured: turnstiles, gates, service entrances, player tunnels
- Set up communication between stewards, any control point, and whoever operates the PA
- Create separate procedures for match days and non-match days (different staffing and crowd sizes)
- Plan how you’d stop or delay a match and communicate with spectators via PA
- Brief all stewards, including casual match-day staff, before each event
- Plan for directional evacuation (guiding spectators away from the threat, not just to the nearest exit)
Getting Started
Compliance is not complicated. Here is what to do:
- Work out your capacity (try our free calculator). Under 200? You are not in scope.
- Write procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication tailored to your sports ground.
- Make sure your staff and volunteers know the procedures. Brief them, put up posters, hand out one-page summaries.
- Keep records of what you have done and who has been briefed.
- Review at least once a year.
You can do this yourself, or use Standard Tier to document your procedures in 10 minutes, set up a training portal your staff and volunteers can access on their phones whenever it suits them, and keep a digital audit trail without chasing signatures or filing paperwork.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Martyn’s Law apply to my sports ground right now?
We only get 150 spectators for most matches. Are we in scope?
We already follow the Green Guide and work with a SAG. Is that enough?
How do you lock down an open-air ground?
Do our volunteer stewards need formal qualifications?
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Standard Tier (2026). Martyn’s Law for Sports Grounds: What You Need to Do. Available at: https://www.standardtier.co.uk/guide/martyns-law-for-sports-grounds
Last reviewed: 21 March 2026. Based on the Act, the Home Office statutory guidance published on 15 April 2026, and the Home Office factsheets. Requirements may be refined as the SIA finalises its guidance.
This guide is general information about the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, not legal advice. Duties under the Act rest on the responsible person for each venue and cannot be transferred. If you're unsure how a specific requirement applies to your premises, take advice from a solicitor or qualified security adviser before acting on anything you read here.
Standard Tier is an independent platform and is not affiliated with the UK Home Office, the SIA, or any government body.