After reviewing over 21 stadiums in Indonesia, TSC’s managing director Ben Veenbrink returned to the archipelago to share his expertise on stadium safety and security and operations at the FIFA-PSSI Stadium Safety & Security Capacity Building Workshop.
The initiative stems from the Memorandum of Understanding signed between FIFA and PSSI after the Kanjuruhan stadium tragedy, which resulted in significant loss of lifes and injuries. The workshop is part of a series of activities to enhance the safety and security of Indonesia’s stadium infrastructure, in which the safety and security audits of 21 stadiums previously carried out by The Stadium Consultancy played a key role.
The workshop gathered 130 stakeholders, including government officials, club representatives, and stadium managers. Discussions covered crucial topics such as stadium certification, matchday security, facility maintenance, and stadium commercialization. Ben Veenbrink was a key contributor, among other experts, to these discussions and provided two sessions focusing on ‘Infrastructure Standards in Stadium Construction’ and ‘Stadium Maintenance & Facility Management’.
Topics included key safety and security items such as circulation zoning & routes, ingress & access control, concourses & vomitories, emergency egress & flow rates, among other topics. The participants were also presented with common issues of stadiums in Indonesia that have been identified while auditing the 21 stadiums across the archipelago. Ben’s second session stressed the importance of maintenance and facility management, providing an important message: poor facility management can cause major tragedies. Covered topics included: policies & procedures, maintenance planning, testing, inspecting and certification.
The initiative not only aims to enhance the physical infrastructure of stadiums across Indonesia, but it also lays the foundation to developing a safety and security culture in Indonesian football, as stated by PSSI’s president Erick Thohir:
“Football is not just about the game on the pitch. It is about creating an environment where players, officials, and, most importantly, the fans can feel safe and enjoy the sport with confidence.”
The construction of safe and welcoming stadiums is an integral step in the development of Indonesian football. This workshop marks another milestone in the process of enhancing stadium safety and security in Indonesia, and The Stadium Consultancy is proud to be a part of it.
Source image: PSSI