Matthias Kloth (born 1974) is the Head of the Council of Europe’s Digital Governance and Sport Department. He has previously worked in the Council of Europe as Adviser in the Office of the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General, as Executive Secretary of the Committee on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) and as lawyer in the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights. Prior to joining the Council of Europe, he worked as legal officer in the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs and the German Federal Ministry of Economics. He holds a doctorate degree in public international law.

Hanne Juncher is Director of Security, Integrity and Rule of law at the Council of Europe. She was previously the Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and in charge of the Council of Europe’s action against money-laundering and other economic crime. Hanne headed the Council of Europe’s work on justice and legal co-operation as well as its human rights support and awareness-raising work. She first joined the Council of Europe as a legal adviser, and also worked for the Ministries of Defence of Denmark and the United Kingdom. She has postgraduate degrees in law from the Universities of Copenhagen and Essex.

Sophie Kwasny is the Head of the Sport Division of the Council of Europe (international organisation based in France). She is responsible for the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) and for the promotion and implementation of ground-breaking legal instruments upholding the integrity and values of sport. Combating doping and the manipulation of sport competitions, and promoting an integrated safety, security and service approach at sports events are the key aims of the three Council of Europe Sport Conventions. She is a graduate of the Strasbourg Law University and has been working for the Council of Europe for 25 years on a variety of topics ranging from data protection to prisons’ reforms, or from the independence of the judiciary to nationality law. Her sole objective: Championing human rights in and through sport!

Paulo Gomes has been working over the last eight years at the Council of Europe. He achieved the top position of national police director of the Portuguese Public Security Police (PSP); and also has a legal background, with two master’s degrees in law and security law. Paulo has also as Deputy Secretary-General of the Internal Security System and Executive Secretary of the National Safety and Security Committee on UEFA EURO 2004,  as well as head of national police delegations at several UEFA and FIFA Football Championships.

For a decade, he was vice-president and president of the Standing Committee of the European Convention on Spectator Violence (ETS No. 120), of the Council of Europe, the 1985 treaty that preceded the Saint-Denis Convention.

Currently he is working as head of unit of the Saint-Denis Convention, he has been secretary of this Convention since 2017. In addition, he is the coordinator of joint projects with the European Union in this field, the current one being on strengthening the safety and service pillars at sporting events.

Gabriela Matei, graduated Aircraft Engineering in the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania and the International Diplomacy and Business programme of the Georgetown University in Washington DC. Previous work with the USAID and the World Bank provided the experience needed for pursuing public policy and fiscal decentralisation reforms in South-East Europe, developing civil society engagement in Eastern Partnership countries, as well as enhancing the respect of human rights through work with Parliaments, ministries, prosecutors and the European Court of Human Rights. She applies Council of Europe’s standards in the member states as basis for the technical assistance programmes and since 2021 she uses her expertise and interest in sport, inclusion, safeguarding diversity to demonstrate that respect can be multiplied in our society through sport. Her objective is to make a difference, a sustainable societal change and she has done this through the EU-CoE joint projects Combating Hate Speech in Sport and the education campaign #Sport IS Respect and since July 2024 the Balance S4 “Strengthening the Safety and Service pillars of the Saint-Denis Convention”#SportWelcomesAll.  

Ken is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a former chair of its Building Control Professional Group.

He has carried out inspections, delivered training and presented papers in many parts of the world to delegates ranging from independent venues to World and National Governing Bodies, Governments and trade bodies on the subject of Safety of Sports Grounds and Crowd Management at large events.

Ken has been Head of Inspectorate at SGSA since 2016 with responsibility for leading and managing the organisations team of inspectors and helping deliver the organisations ambitious new strategy to become the worlds leading authority on sports grounds safety.

He also took the strategic lead role and is co-author of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds 6^th edition (the Green Guide) published in 2018. The document is widely respected around the world as the leading guidance document on safety of sports grounds

After graduating from Loughborough University with a Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Sciences and PhD in the Sociology of Sport, Dr. Jo Welford spent 16 years researching, evaluating, and recommending policy for increasing accessibility for sport spectators. Specifically, she is an expert in the role of supporters in football governance, the professionalization of women’s football, and safe standing in stadiums. Her research previously informed the policy change allowing licensed standing in all-seater stadia.

Today, Dr. Jo Welford is currently working as an Inspector at the Sports Grounds Safety Authority where her primary responsibility concerns data and evidence.

Andrea Jones has worked as the Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement at the the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) for nearly 7 years. Prior to her role at SGSA she worked as the previously Head of Communications and Membership at the Association of Colleges, Communications Manager for the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales and Community Engagement Manger for South Wales Police Authority.

Andrea also has a degree in Journalism, a post graduate Diploma in Public Relations and a Masters in Business Administration which has informed her over 17 years of experience in communication and public relations roles

Stuart is the Director of European and Institutional Affairs at Football Supporters Europe. He has extensive experience in facilitating the implementation of the Supporter Liaison Officer provision in UEFA's Club Licensing Regulations on behalf of UEFA as well as in the delivery of EU-funded projects. In April 2020, he completed the Executive Master in Global Sports Governance (MESGO) programme, graduating with a high-class distinction. His thesis had the title "Fan Dialogue in France: Impact of the Law of 10 May 2016 on Strengthening Dialogue with Supporters".

Dmytro Zharyi is a lawyer originally from Ukraine, where he worked extensively to combat disability discrimination through strategic litigation. He served as an elected member of a special committee of the Ukrainian National Bar Association dedicated to protecting the rights of people with disabilities and provided legal advice to the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine. He also founded Parafan Club Dnipro, the disabled supporters’ association at FC Dnipro.
Now based in Zurich, Switzerland, Dmytro is the Director and a Trustee of AccessibAll, where he continues his advocacy for disability rights through sport.
 

Stefan Leutert works as a Lawyer for the Crime Prevention Division of the Swiss Federal Office of Police. He is a legal expert on violence at sporting events. His work focuses primarily on preventing and implementing policies to combat violence at sporting events. He has also previously conducted his doctoral thesis research on the cost of police allocation for major sporting events and its effects on fundamental rights, police law, and tax law.

Alain Brechbühl currently works as the Project Manager at the Research Unit on Violence at Sports Events at the Institute of Penal Law and Criminology at the University of Bern. Since obtaining a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Sports Science and a PhD at the Institute of Sports Science at the University of Bern, he has conducted extensive research on violence at sports events. Alain has specifically studied policies and practices which aim to prevent the escalation of violence at sports events and has become an expert on the subject through over 13 years studying violence in connection with sport.

Katarzyna Gierak serves as the Head of Strategy and Integrity of Sport Unit in the Department of Planning and Strategy at Poland’s Ministry of Sport and Tourism. She, along with Poland’s Ministry of Sport and Tourism, work to promote initiatives to help improve inclusion and safety for disabled persons at football matches. She participates within her Unit in preparing sports development strategy. As an expert in her field, she has also previously worked with the Council of Europe and the Balance S4 project to promote service and inclusion at sporting events.

Adrian began his law enforcement career in 2002 and he holds an experience of more than 18 years as international police cooperation officer and later on as deputy head of the National Football Information Point of Romania.

He was involved in the work of the European Group of Policing Football and NFIP Experts (Think Tank) – NFIP network for more than 12 years, in 2015 being elected as vice-chair of this body and as of November 2021 as Chair. In this function, he is responsible for the strategic management of the European NFIP network and contributed to the development of the current European legal framework in this field, analysis instruments for police data, monitoring and technical assistance activities, NFIP website and various training programs.  

Mr.Dinca also held the position of Vice-chair of the Council of Europe Convention on Spectator Violence (T-RV) Standing Committee from 2016 to 2018 and Chair from 2018 to 2020, being elected for these positions by delegates from the Member States parties to this international Treaty.

From April 2021, Adrian has been elected as the first Chair of the new established Committee on Safety and Security at Sports Events for the Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events (T-S4) for a mandate of 2 years, which was renewed in April 2023 for an extra 2 years.

Adrian has been a part of the operational support teams deployed for several major sport events (notably EURO 2008, Europa League final 2012 and EURO 2016), he was a member of the management structure of the International Police Cooperation Centre (IPCC) for the EURO 2020, which was hosted at Europol headquarters in Hague and advisor for the head of the IPCC EURO 2024 Germany.

He is involved as expert in various international training sessions related to safety and security at sport events, organized by UEFA, European Think Tank, Council of Europe and CEPOL.

Adrian holds a Bachelors’ Degree in law, Master’s degree in international police cooperation.   

As of March 2025, Adrian joined UEFA Safety security operations unit as Senior Safety and Security Manager.

Pier-Marcello Corrado is a Policy Officer within the Sport Unit at the European Commission. Based in Brussels, he specializes in shaping and implementing EU sports policy with a strong emphasis on inclusion and social impact. Pier-Marcello is dedicated to using sport as a tool for inclusion for everyone including those with disabilities, refugees, and other groups at risk of marginalisation. He also works to support the Joint European Union and Council of Europe Project Balance S4 “Strengthening the Safety and Service pillars of the Saint-Denis Convention” at the European Commission.