Martyn's Law: What does the latest guidance on terrorism protection mean for UK sports organisations?

When^[1] the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (better known as Martyn’s Law) received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025, the broad shape of the regime was already clear: certain premises and events would need to prepare for a terrorist attack, and larger venues and events would need to go further by considering and, where appropriate, reducing their vulnerability to one.  What was less clear was how some of the Act’s key concepts would work in practice, particularly around scope, responsibility and what “appropriate” and “reasonably practicable” might mean on the ground.

Martyn's Law is not in force yet and will not be until spring 2027 at the earliest. But the Home Office’s statutory guidance^[2], published on 15 April 2026 (and updated on 18 May 2026) is an important milestone to allow duty holders to prepare. 

This article examines the Home Office's statutory guidance means in practice for the sports sector and looks at what compliance will actually required and where the practical pressure points, from assessing attendance to allocating responsibility in venue-hire and outsourcing contracts, are likely to lie.

It looks at:

• Do you qualify? Standard and enhanced tiers, and qualifying events
• Calculating Capacity – from time to time and at the same time
• How are mixed-use spaces treated
• What counts as a "premises"?
• Which venues are outside of scope
• Who is responsible?
• The duties and compliance required
• What sports organisations should be doing now
• Contracting and allocating compliance risk in venue-hire and outsourcing agreements
• Further support and resources