For most sports clubs the answer turns on one thing the Act cares about more than the sport: the building. A club is only qualifying premises if there is a building involved and 200 or more people can reasonably be expected there at once. The pitch, the open ground and the car park are a separate question, and often they are excluded altogether.
It starts with the building
Qualifying premises must include at least one building, used wholly or mainly for a listed use such as sport, leisure, or food and drink. For a club that is usually the clubhouse: the bar, the function room, the changing rooms.
So the first figure to work out is the clubhouse's own peak. A clubhouse that holds 120 on a busy Saturday is out of scope on its own. One with a function room that takes 180 for a presentation night, plus the bar and staff, can easily pass 200.
Is the ground itself in scope?
Open-air premises used for recreation are excluded where they are generally open to the public: parks, recreation grounds, playing fields, and most sports grounds. A club that plays on an open council pitch, or a ground anyone can walk onto, is normally outside the Act as far as the pitch goes.
That exclusion stops applying where access is controlled. If spectators pay at a gate, show a ticket, or have to be members to get in, and someone checks, the ground is no longer simply open access, and the numbers on match day become relevant. The small number of large grounds designated under separate sports ground safety legislation are treated differently again.
If your ground is sometimes open and sometimes gated, look at how it is actually used. This is an area where the detail of your arrangements matters, so check your position against the Home Office statutory guidance rather than assuming either way.
Match days and the busiest fixture
Capacity is judged on what may reasonably be expected from time to time, not on an average week. A club whose clubhouse is quiet most of the season but packed for the derby, the cup run or the end-of-season do is assessed on those days if they recur.
A genuine one-off, such as a testimonial that will not happen again, does not normally push a venue into a higher tier on its own. A fixture that comes round every season does.
Count everyone: players, officials, coaches, bar staff, volunteers on the gate and in the kitchen, as well as spectators. On a busy day that can be 60 people before a single supporter arrives.
Tournaments, festivals and fun days
An event can be in scope even where the ground is not. A qualifying event needs 800 or more people expected at once, public access, and a checked condition of entry. For clubs, that condition includes being a member or a guest of the club, as well as paying or holding a ticket.
A free open-access fun day is not a qualifying event. A paid-entry tournament or festival for 800 or more, with wristbands or tickets checked, is, and it sits in the enhanced tier. The events guide covers the tests in full.
Who is responsible at a club
The duty sits with whoever controls the premises in connection with its use. For a members' club that is usually the club itself, acting through its committee. Where a club leases its ground or clubhouse from a council or a landlord, it is normally the club that runs it day to day, but the lease should say so.
Clubs change committees often. Record which officer holds the role in the minutes, and hand it over properly when that person stands down.
What standard tier means for a club
If the clubhouse is in scope, the standard tier duties are the same as for any venue: notify the Security Industry Authority, and have the four procedures in place, evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, with the people who work there knowing them.
The parts clubs find hardest are specific to how clubs run:
- Different volunteers every week. The bar and gate are often covered by whoever is free, so the procedures have to reach a rota rather than a fixed team
- Visiting teams and officials who have never been in the building
- Who is in charge on a match day when the committee members are playing, coaching or away
- Telling people outside. A clubhouse procedure does not reach spectators on the far touchline without a plan for it
Common questions
Does Martyn's Law apply to sports clubs?
Where a club has a building, usually the clubhouse, used for sport, leisure or food and drink, and 200 or more people can reasonably be expected there at once. The count includes players, officials, staff and volunteers as well as spectators. Many clubhouses fall below 200 and are out of scope.
Is a sports pitch covered by Martyn's Law?
Generally not, where it is open to the public. Open-air recreation premises, including recreation grounds, playing fields and most sports grounds, are excluded. The exclusion does not apply where access is controlled, for example paid or ticketed entry that someone checks.
Does a one-off big match put a club in scope?
A genuine one-off that is not expected to happen again does not normally push a venue into a higher tier. Capacity is judged on what may reasonably be expected from time to time, so a fixture that recurs every season does count.
Is a club tournament a qualifying event?
Only if 800 or more people are expected at once, the public can attend, and entry depends on a checked condition, which can include paying, holding a ticket, or being a member or guest of the club. A free, open-access fun day is not a qualifying event.
Who is the responsible person at a sports club?
Usually the club, acting through its committee, because it controls the premises day to day. Where the ground or clubhouse is leased, the lease should confirm who holds the duty. Record the named officer in the minutes and hand it over when they stand down.