Football community committed to keeping football safe, secure and welcoming
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
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Annual gathering focuses on providing a warm and open service to match-going supporters, especially those travelling as away fans.
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With this season's UEFA club competition kick-off fast approaching, thoughts are already turning to matchday 1 and the excitement that lies ahead.
But behind the iconic anthem, the bright lights and the impeccable pitch, vital work goes in behind the scenes to ensure every single UEFA match can be played in a safe and welcoming environment for players, officials and fans.
We work with national associations, clubs, law enforcement agencies and supporter networks from across Europe to optimise these conditions, and one of the key events in the calendar is the UEFA annual safety and security conference, with the 2025 edition staged in Budapest, host city for this season's Champions League final.
The theme of this year's event was "Stronger together", highlighting the importance of collaboration between all bodies, but in particular opposition clubs, to tackle one of the game's most challenging aspects.
"On the pitch, our clubs and national teams may be rivals, but when it comes to safety and security, we all wear the same jersey."
"On the pitch, our clubs and national teams may be rivals, but when it comes to safety and security, we all wear the same jersey," UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin told delegates in a welcome address. "This conference is not just about exchanging experiences, it is about strengthening partnerships: with federations, police, and all those who share our mission.
"Much of the work behind a football match goes unseen, especially off the field, but rest assured that your efforts are deeply valued by the European football family, particularly in these troublesome times," he added.
Petr Fousek, UEFA stadium and security committee chair
"Since 2023,we have a renewed composition of the UEFA Stadia and Security Committee and a fresh strategy with concrete action plans. Significant progress has been made across competitions, events, regulations, and other key areas. Education remains central to these efforts, with the safety and security conference playing a pivotal role – a trend we are committed to continuing."
Providing service, not just security
Safety and security recommendations have changed in recent years, placing a focus on dialogue with supporters and offering them a proactive and welcoming service, rather than reactive policing.
Across the two-day event, delegates heard from a variety of stakeholders offering success stories from this approach, demonstrating the importance of listening to supporters when planning major events.
"We seek to foster and promote the dialogue model across Europe and set the example for an effective, communication-based approach using early and proactive engagement, constant exchange and consultation between all stakeholders involved," stressed UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti.
"We seek to foster and promote the dialogue model across Europe and set the example for an effective, communication-based approach..."
President Čeferin also touched on the importance of offering away supporters a safe, affordable and enjoyable experience at matches – an important challenge for European football, and a key point on the conference agenda, as we seek to avoid bans on travelling supporters.
“We were grateful for the opportunity to express concerns about collective bans on away supporters in European competitions and promote improved cooperation between police and supporter liaison officers to a wider audience," said Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe (FSE).
"We also appreciate the renewed focus on matchday services and the joint commitment by UEFA and other stakeholders to engage with public authorities in countries where away fans hosting conditions remain challenging."
Anja Schouten, mayor of Alkmaar, where a pilot project has been launched to assess how best to facilitate and deliver the attendance of travelling away fans
"We believe that true football spirit means welcoming both sets of fans. By working closely with UEFA and our partners, we want to make European matches an experience where visiting supporters feel respected and at home.”
Preparations underway for Budapest final
Marchetti went on to outline how we are working to ensure an unforgettable and enjoyable Champions League final in 2026, following the recent announcement that the match will kick off at the earlier time of 18:00CET.
"We all know how much work there must be behind a project of this size and importance: thorough analysis, planning, monitoring, exchange, implementation, troubleshooting and more," Marchetti said. "UEFA will do its utmost to support the Hungarian FA and authorities for this major event. We want to make it a benchmark for any future organisation and for all our finals."
The conference also provided the opportunity for opposing clubs to meet ahead of their league-phase fixtures in the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
