After more than four decades of dreaming, Sunday’s Women’s World Cup Final will see a dream come true for Paul Letters.
The disabled England fan will be in attendance at Stadium Australia, when his nation takes the field.
Paul has been to many world cups and was a fan leader for FIFA’s tournament in Qatar, where he witnessed Lionel Messi’s magic in the final. At different events across the globe, he has therefore been able to compare the provisions for wheelchair users.
Paul said: “The helpful, can-do attitudes of staff, such as security and ushers, has been a real positive at this tournament.
“Access to toilets, food, drink, transport is all great and is far better than it was in Qatar or Russia, for example.”
He added: “There continue to be frustrations, however.
“The fact that FIFA won’t sell more than two seats or places next to each other for disabled people, despite the fact the stadium can cater for three or more together remains a problem.
“We are a family of three. Every parent will recognise that restriction as a logistical problem and every football fan knows watching the sport live is about those shared moments.”
Paul has been campaigning for FIFA to introduce inclusive seating since 2018. You can find out more about his correspondence with the world governing body on his blog – Not Your Average England Fan.
Like every fan, so much of Paul’s focus has been on the pitch too.
He said: “The atmosphere outside and inside the ground for France v Brazil was great, thanks mainly to the Brazilians.
“Witnessing the longest penalty shootout in World Cup history was special, and we were supporting the hosts.
“We had met the Matilda’s winning penalty taker, Courtnee Vine, in the street a few days earlier – nobody else seemed to know who she was: I reckon they all know now!
“As an England fan, I am hoping for more highlights to come, but so far, the best moment has to be witnessing Chloe Kelly’s 111km penalty v Nigeria.”
Paul and his son recently released a podcast on the history of womens football, featuring audio collected during the tournament.
Results from the Level Playing Field survey on disabled supporters of women’s domestic football across England and Wales were released in July.
If you want to share your experience from the Women’s World Cup or another sporting event, please get in touch with Level Playing Field.