Stewards are an essential part of football match days, so ingrained to it that most supporters and spectators may not think twice about them. But for football clubs, both the largest in the Premier League and the English Football League tiers and the smaller ones playing in non-league, a stadium steward is a crucial part of guaranteeing spectator safety at the sports grounds and providing football fans and the local community with a positive and memorable match day experience.

But recruiting, organising and scheduling stewards can be a challenging task taking up a large amount of match day safety team's administrative resources. This article will discuss managing this process as efficiently as possible and reduce unnecessary workload and overhead costs.

Find the right stewards

On a match day at sports stadiums in the UK, the majority of stewards are often local volunteers or individuals hired on a temporary basis. However, you should decide this based on your specific football club, stadium and match day.

Volunteers

Volunteers are already emotionally invested in the football club or the event and are often willing to contribute their time to participate in the match day experience. For these reasons, they often possess the willingness to go the extra mile. And from a financial perspective, it is the perfect choice for a football club playing in lower divisions and managing limited resources.

The obvious downside of volunteers is the difficulty of scheduling. As they are not receiving salaries for stewarding, they may cancel when having personal scheduling conflicts with paid work or other duties. In these cases, match-day safety managers need to quickly find replacements. Depending on the volunteer database and staff management system in place, this may not be a significant issue if the schedulers and managers know to account for this.

Temporary staff

Hiring temporary staff for match days will mitigate the scheduling challenges of volunteer availability. This is a great option when looking for a specific qualification or filling a job with certain training requirements, for example, a first aid provider. But temporary staff can also present scheduling challenges with some additions: tracking employee time and managing salaries.

Event security company or stewarding agency

Larger stadiums and high-profile events might contract with professional event security firms. These firms provide trained security personnel who also serve as stewards. This is definitely the most expensive option, as prices will need to cover not only the stewards' salaries but also the agencies' overhead costs. It can also be a suboptimal choice to engage the local community.

Prepare the training

A football steward is responsible for various tasks, including guiding spectators to their seats, providing information, managing crowd flow, checking tickets, assisting with emergencies, and addressing any issues that arise during an event.

Ensure NVQ Level 2 Spectator Safety certificates

The Level 2 NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) in Spectator Safety is a qualification designed to provide individuals with the knowledge, skills, and competencies required to effectively contribute to spectator safety at events, particularly in sports stadiums and other venues where large crowds gather.

The stewarding requirements set by the UK government and the Football Association require that stewards complete the NVQ Level 2 Spectator Safety course. It encompasses all the main training required for football stewards:

Understanding the role of a steward or safety steward
Crowd dynamics and behaviour
Communication skills for dealing with the public
Conflict management and resolution
Health and safety regulations and procedures
Emergency response and evacuation procedures
Identifying and addressing potential risks and hazards
Effective teamwork and collaboration
Customer service and attendee assistance
Legal and ethical considerations in event safety

NVQ Level 2 Spectator Safety will provide stewards with the ability to prevent overcrowding and maintain crowd safety throughout the game. If an incident should arise, the steward will know how to remain calm and, if necessary, report it to the police and coordinate with first aid providers and emergency personnel.

Football clubs usually organise NVQ Level 2 Spectator Safety courses for volunteers, as the latter provide their service for free. It's important for the club to keep tabs on who has their certificates and who has yet to obtain them.

Provide the Matchday Operations Manual

This manual serves as a reference guide for stewards. Here are some key components of the Matchday Operations Manual:

Roles and responsibilities: It outlines the duties of each role, from stewarding and ticketing to emergency response and fan engagement.
Communication Protocols: This outlines the communication systems in place, such as radio channels, intercoms, and coordination between stewards and other event staff.
Facility Information: This provides stewards with information about the facilities available to spectators, such as restrooms, medical stations, and concessions, as stewards may need to direct attendees to these facilities as needed.
Accessibility and Inclusion: The manual should include guidelines for assisting spectators with disabilities and ensuring their needs are met.
Ticketing and Entry: Information about ticketing procedures, entry points, and ticket-checking processes should also be included in the manual, as stewards play a role in verifying tickets and guiding fans to their designated areas.

Introduce team communication systems

While all your successful candidates have probably presented good communication skills, it's essential to focus on this separately, as each club has their own communication system in place to make the organisational process as efficient as possible if your club has yet to implement a communication system to schedule and manage stewards on game nights.

Ensure good communication with fans

Stewards are often the first point of contact for home fans and visitors, so providing excellent customer service is essential. Stewards help fans find their seats, answer questions about facilities and amenities, and assist with any special needs or concerns. Good communication with fans from both sides makes the match experience enjoyable and helps avoid conflicts.

Consider steward-to-spectator ratio

The Steward-to-Spectator Ratio is a guideline that indicates the minimum number of stewards required based on the size of the crowd attending an event. This ratio ensures that there are enough stewards present to effectively manage the crowd, provide assistance, and respond to incidents. When considering the optimal ratio for the match day, you should consider the following:

Crowd Size: The number of spectators attending the event is a key factor in determining the steward-to-spectator ratio. Larger crowds typically require more stewards to maintain order and ensure safety.
Event Type: Different types of events might have varying stewarding needs. A high-profile match or an event with potential security concerns might require a higher steward-to-spectator ratio.
Crowd Density: The density of the crowd in different areas of the stadium is considered. Areas with higher congestion may require more stewards to manage crowd flow.
Emergency Preparedness: The ratio is also influenced by the need for effective emergency response. Having an appropriate number of stewards ensures that emergency procedures can be implemented efficiently.
Local Regulations: Regulatory bodies and local authorities may provide guidelines for the steward-to-spectator ratio based on safety standards and past experiences.

Implement staff scheduling software

Staff scheduling software can help you overcome the challenges of finding the right stewards for the matches, ensuring that certifications are obtained and providing matchday operations manuals.

Build your steward database

When choosing the right platform, it's important to consider the pricing model. With no-per-user pricing, you can add as many volunteers to your database as you are able to recruit. PARiM Staff Scheduling Software lets you add thousands of staff members to the database while costs are only tied to the actual scheduled hours. This will help you overcome volunteer availability issues.

Another aspect to consider is if volunteers and temporary workers can input their availability into the system. PARiM provides the tools for volunteers and temporary workers for this, and the availability information can be used when creating schedules to ensure that shifts are assigned appropriately.

PARiM also lets you track training and qualifications, upload documents and get reminders about expiring certifications. This allows you to track and manage these qualifications and ensures that only qualified individuals are assigned relevant roles. Additionally, you can upload matchday operations manuals to the system to provide stewards quick access to the manuals.

Publish open positions

With PARiM, managers can create open shifts in the scheduling system. These shifts are marked as available but not yet assigned to specific staff members. You can notify volunteers and temporary workers with matching skills and qualifications about open shifts and let them apply to the positions on a first-come-first-serve basis.

This turns the process of finding stewards around: instead of match day safety managers scouting them one by one, schedulers can easily let them approach the club. This process also decreases manual administrative work and thus reduces overhead costs.

Track temporary workers' wages

Salaried workers need the extra effort of tracking employee time and calculating pay rates. PARiM lets you automate this process: set up custom pay rates for each position, and the software will calculate salaries. This is achieved with the Time Clock app: team members use their mobile devices to clock in when match day work starts and out when it ends.

Conclusion

Finding the right stewards may not be difficult in itself, as many football fans are willing to partake in match day as stewards. The challenges arise from managing the training and scheduling of a large pool of volunteers and temporary workers. The right staff management software solution can help organise your steward database and certifications, distribute digital matchday operations manuals and schedule stewards quickly and efficiently.

How to manage stewards at football matches efficiently?