Shrewsbury Town are set to become the first English football club to have a safe standing section in their ground after they reached their financing target through a crowd-funding campaign.
A fan pays his respects at the Hillsborough memorial outside the Anfield stadium Photo: PHOTOSPORT
All-seater stadiums became mandatory in England's top two divisions following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 96 Liverpool fans were killed in a crush at an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.
League One (third tier) Shrewsbury had approached Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) in June to increase the capacity at their Montgomery Waters Meadow stadium by using 500 rail seats.
The ground is 10 years old so is not governed by the all-seater stadiums legislation that permits clubs in Leagues One and Two to keep terraces that existed before 1994.
The crowd-funding initiative led by Shrewsbury Town Supporters' Parliament raised 120 thousand dollars and drew support from almost 1,000 fans.
"We are delighted that Shrewsbury Town will be the flagship club in addressing this issue, which is so important to so many fans," Shrewsbury chief executive Brian Caldwell said in a statement.
"We will now continue to work closely with our local Safety Advisory Group to gain the necessary certification for the Safe Standing area....and we hope to have supporters watching home games from the safe standing area before the end of the seasonGǥ.
West Bromwich Albion told the Premier League in June that they would be willing to use the Hawthorns as a part of any pilot scheme for safe standing.
-Reuters
