Having recently joined Oxford United as the club’s new Head of Safety and Operations, Jim Goddard will have overall responsibility for health and safety, safeguarding and matchday activities at the Kassam Stadium.

He will also be part of the team developing plans for crowd management, operations and safety at the proposed new stadium.

Jim told us:

“I was a police officer for 30 years and have an operation management background, with a particular focus on crowd safety at big festivals like Glastonbury. I have provided consultancy services for numerous sports organisations, which included 18 months as the Safety Officer for Liverpool FC and a spell working for Oxford United back in 2018/19.

“I most recently worked for Sheffield United but, having developed great relationships with so many people here at Oxford, when the opportunity arose to return it was too good a role to turn down. It’s a really exciting time for the club and I feel privileged to be back.

“Part of my brief is to continue delivering a safe environment for supporters, whilst also making the matchday experience more engaging for fans who come along to games.

“We’ll continue to work with the stadium owners and management, all of the safety groups and with fan groups to improve what we do, and we are already starting to make changes behind the scenes which we know will make things better for everyone.

“As we continue preparations for the new stadium, it’s important that we put the right processes and procedures in place so that we can deliver the safe, welcoming place we all dream of. The planning for that starts now.

“There’s a lot of work to and it will take a team effort to achieve what we want to. However, with sell-out crowds and the plans for the new stadium, who wouldn’t want to be part of that? It has been wonderful so far and I’m excited to be at a club that is striving for excellence both on and off the pitch.”