British Leaders Considering Goalpost Safety Bill

Brenda Smith

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Recently I traveled to London, I live in England, to listen to my local Member of Parliament deliver a speech called The Ten Minute Rule Bill. It was very emotional to listen to and I wanted to share it with as many people world wide that I could. At last I feel positive children's safety playing football, hopefully it will become law in England by 2012.

Conservative MP Brooks Newmark sets out the issues which have prompted his Goalpost Safety Bill, which is being considered in the Commons.

Today I have the opportunity to bring forward a 10 minute rule bill calling for mandatory safety standards for football goalposts by 2012. This Bill marks another stage in the tireless campaign for safer goalposts fought by a constituent of mine since her 11-year-old son was killed when a heavy and poorly constructed goalpost fell on him in 1991.

Since this accident, another 10 children in the UK have been killed by falling goalposts, along with many others worldwide. Even more have been injured, often leaving permanent damage and disfiguring scars.

My Bill is not an example of 'health and safety gone mad', and I’m not talking about professional football or about families having a kick about in their backyard. Instead, my Bill simply seeks to make the replacement of any goalposts not adhering to the BSI standard mandatory by 2012, with its scope widened to include goalposts used on property owned by councils, schools and clubs.

Significant progress has already been made in improving the safety standards of football goalposts. We have an excellent BSI standard and the Football Authority has distributed over one million leaflets to help clubs, schools and councils to understand the risks posed by unsafe goalposts. The Football Foundation already operates an excellent scheme whereby any FA-affiliated club, local authority, school or community group can apply for a 50 per cent grant to replace any of their goalposts which do not adhere to the recognized BSI standard. The goalposts are then professionally installed and the applicant taught how to maintain them correctly. With all of these measures, there is simply no excuse for unsafe goalposts to still exist – yet they do.

The FA has identified around 15,000 goalposts which do not meet the BSI standard. The Football Foundation has, to date, replaced around one third of these unsafe goalposts at a cost of nearly £2m. This is an admirable achievement, but there is more that can be done.

As a passionate football fan, a member of Parliament and a father of five, I do not need to be told how important football is to young people. I know only too well that millions of people regularly enjoy playing football and we need to encourage them to continue to do so. However, we also need appropriate legislation in place to keep them safe.

So 2012 is a realistic target, given the already operational BSI standard and the Football Foundation's simple and accessible scheme. The year of the London Olympics is also an important symbolic target: Proving that we have a commitment to grassroots sports and that we care as much for safety as for success. That would be a truly great British Olympic legacy.

Brooks Newmark