UK Football Policing Unit celebrates 20th anniversary

The policing body which manages how football matches are policed in England and Wales celebrates its 20^th anniversary this month.

The UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) was established on 5 November 2005 in response to high-profile incidents and disorder overseas and domestically in England and Wales.

The unit brought together the national coordination for football intelligence and enforcement, replacing the ad hoc arrangements which had previously been in place.

Since its establishment, the unit has been instrumental in a number of changes in the way football matches are policed, not only in the UK, but also across the world.

The changes have included the introduction of Dedicated Football Officers in all clubs in the top five leagues, who are now all trained by the UKFPU to a national standard; establishing a National Database on football incidents; and cementing strong partnerships with other agencies involved in football events.

In 2006, the UKFPU saw the deployment of over 50 British police officers to the World Cup in Germany, setting a precedent for international liaison and preventative policing at overseas tournaments and other European competitions.

Since then, the group has sent deployments to all international tournaments, including tournaments in Brazil, France, Moscow, Qatar and Germany.

The UKFPU also undertakes the role of the Football Banning Authority and have been instrumental in the use of the Football Banning Orders (FBOs). There are currently more than 2,600 active FBOs in place, and they have played a key role in helping to reduce disorder at matches, leading to a decline in the number of arrests, helping to make football matches a safe place for everyone.

In 2021, following the European Football Championships final held at Wembley, they introduced a centralised system of investigations into online hate crime, responding to the surge in this type of offence in the football community.

In addition, the unit led the way in the formation of the European Think Tank, which consists of all European partners, and undertakes the role of the National Football Information Point for the UK.                

Chief Constable Mark Roberts QPM, the National Police Chiefs lead for Football, said:

“Looking back, it’s amazing to see what the UKFPU has been able to achieve in such a short period of time and I’m extremely proud of all the work we have done.

“Prior to the introduction of the unit, UK football fans had a reputation for being ‘hooligans’ who were only out to cause trouble and even now it is an unfair label that can be lazily applied to our supporters.

“However, thanks to the work we’ve done, we’ve been able to gradually change this reputation and  fundamentally changed the way football matches are policed and how offenders are dealt with. More than ever we want to work with fans to not only keep them safe but also help them to have a positive experience, especially when they travel abroad.

"Through our fan survey there are encouraging signs that we are seeing some improvements in countries where a very different policing and security approach has often seen our supporters unfairly treated.

“As in any aspect of society there will always be some issues but the number of fans who commit crime and cause disruption has reduced significantly and that shift has coincided with football in this country being so attractive across the world.

“Many of these changes have been achieved through our partnership work with a broad range of stakeholders including the Football Association, the Home Office and of course the fans themselves, who have all played key roles.

“Our work is respected across the world, and we’re regularly approached by police forces from other countries who are keen to instigate some of the changes that we have been able to achieve.

“Of course patterns of behaviour are always changing and the UKFPU reflects that in its focus. In addition to its original mission to tackle football disorder we now increasingly addressing  hate crime, drug related crime, violence against women and girls, corruption and online offences.

“We’re also well into the planning for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US, and of course the planning for Euro 2028 here in the UK, which is set to be one of the biggest policing operations since the London Olympics.

“From a personal perspective, one of my key targets is to continue lobbying the government to introduce a fairer charging regime to enable forces to recover a greater proportion of the costs we incur policing football.”