Day: March 1, 2024

Some supporters will be permitted to stand during the EFL Cup final between Manchester United and Newcastle United.

The match, on 26 February, will be the first major domestic English men’s final in almost 35 years in which standing will be allowed.

Both clubs will be allocated 867 seats within new safe-standing areas located behind each goal at Wembley Stadium.

Premier League and EFL clubs have been allowed to introduce standing areas since the start of the 2022-23 season.

It came after five clubs – Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Cardiff City – took part in a government-commissioned ‘early adopters’ pilot study during the second half of the 2021-22 campaign.

In safe standing areas, fans stand behind a barrier or a rail which helps prevent them from falling forward.

Designated standing areas had not been seen at Premier League grounds since the adoption of all-seater stadiums in the early 1990s – a recommendation of the Taylor Report following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 97 Liverpool fans died following a crush at an FA Cup semi-final.

Spectators at many grounds have continued to stand in seated areas, most commonly behind the goals, despite regular warnings from local authorities and police that it is dangerous.

Standing areas in stadiums are commonplace in Germany’s Bundesliga and there are similar examples across the rest of Europe, the United States, and Australia.

The EFL Cup final will be Manchester United’s first domestic final appearance since 2018 and puts them a win away from ending their six-year wait for a trophy.

For Newcastle, it will mark their first cup final since 1999 and a chance to win their first trophy since Ujpest Dozsa was beaten in the 1969 Inter Cities’ Fairs Cup Final.

The transition to a greener economy is worth £71bn and has brought jobs and investment to parts of the UK experiencing industrial decline. 

Those are the key findings of a new report written by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The drive to reach net zero emissions involves more than 20,000 businesses, it calculates. 

Some 840,000 jobs are linked to sectors ranging from renewable energy to waste management, it adds.

Titled Mapping The Net Zero Economy, the report looked at the parts of the UK that have benefited most from policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Scotland and English regions, such as Tyneside, Teeside, Merseyside and the Humber, had all done better than average, with the green economy being stronger and contributing more to growth than in London and the South East. 

Green jobs also pay significantly more, the report says, with the average wage (£42,600) significantly above the national average (£33,400).

“The net zero economy is addressing levelling up and the UK’s productivity problem,” says Peter Chalkley, the director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) who commissioned the research.

“But if the UK doesn’t build on the good work that has already been done, we will lose out and lose jobs.”

The UK has long been seen as a leader in green technology, in particular offshore wind, but this position is at risk. 

“Other places (in the world) are really setting out their stalls for how they’re going to capture that investment,” says Tom Thackeray from the CBI who carried out the analysis, adding that there is now a “global competition” for green funding. 

The passing last year of landmark legislation in the United States called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has, analysts say, changed the global dynamic for green investment. The Bill puts aside $369bn (£297bn) for action related to tackling climate change and many companies now see America as the best destination for their money. 

“There’s an excitement [about the US since the IRA], so the challenge for us is to reignite the excitement back in the UK,” says Chris Stark, the chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, a public body that advises the UK government on its green policies.

The view that the UK is losing momentum was also in Tory MP Chris Skidmore’s Mission Zero report last month in which he said the UK was falling behind in the net zero race.

Restrictive planning regulations for onshore wind and solar, and a lack of consistency in policy were among many issues Mr Skidmore cited as holding back investment from the private sector.

“We need to really speed up planning and consent for renewables and for network connections and for vehicle charging,” says Emma Pinchbeck, the chief executive of trade association Energy UK. 

“It takes 12 years to build a wind farm in this country, when it should take one.”

Responding to the report and the criticism of policy, a government spokesman said the UK was leading the world on tackling climate change.

“Our plans will support up to 480,000 jobs by 2030,” they said. “We are driving an unprecedented £100bn of private sector investment by 2030, backed by around £30bn in funding from the government since March 2021 to achieve