The European Stadium & Safety Management Association, ESSMA, is entering the Russian market since 12 months, with first members VTB Arena, Lokomotiv Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg.
"ESSMA is mainly covering 3 areas of the industry: stadium management – safety & security management and head groundsmenship", explains president John Beattie, stadium manager of the Emirates Stadium of Arsenal FC. "What differentiates us is our practical approach with all members working on daily basis in the stadium."
Dimitri Huygen, secretary general of ESSMA: "We organized a first incoming visit of Russian stadium managers in August 2011 to Manchester City, Chelsea FC, Liverpool, Wembley and Emirates Stadium combining workshops in the stadiums. We have done a second tour with them in March 2012. In September 2011 we had our first contact with the Russian Football Union and the Russian Premier League in developing a long term relation. We expect to sign cooperation in the upcoming months."
Holger Hieronymus, Deputy CEO of DFL: "Our Greenkeeper conference has shown that we benefit a lot from the international network of ESSMA. On the other hand, as one of the leading football leagues, we are happy to share the match operation and stadium experiences of our experts with our European colleagues."
