Councils pay £1m to keep rich clubs safe

Harper's in the pink with legend Lionel

- Eugene Henderson

COUNCILS face bills of more than £1million a year to keep football matches running safely, despite the giants of the game being worth billions.

Taxpayers are being left to pick up the bill to provide football clubs with the safety certificates they need to operate on match days.

Councils are responsible for safety certification at all 92 football grounds in England's four professional leagues, as well as at other sports clubs.

But the current laws, introduced in 1975, limit how much they can charge, leaving taxpayers footing the bill for any extra costs.

The Local Government Association estimates the near 50-year-old regulations cost them £1.2million per year.

At a time when budgets and staff are stretched to breaking point, councils are paying on average £5,869 per sports ground to oversee safety.

And costs to councils may be higher for football stadia than other grounds in some cases over £20,000 per ground.