Level Playing is taking the opportunity to look back over the last ten years and recognise the improvements and significant milestones reached which has played a part in improving the matchday experience for disabled fans.
Level Playing Field chief executive Owain Davies said: “International Day of Persons with Disabilities plays an essential role in raising awareness, not just of the barriers and inequalities in our society but the opportunities for greater inclusion and also shining a light on existing good practices.
“This time of year is synonymous with reflection, and it’s important we do this and use it to shape our future. We need to be proactive and continue to be a collective force for change, with user-led feedback at the heart of all key decisions.”
2012: Wembley Stadium and Emirates Stadium awarded Centre of Excellence
Wembley Stadium and Arsenal FC were the first recipients of the ‘Level Playing Field Centre of Excellence’ award.
The award is presented to sporting venues that demonstrate the highest access and inclusion standards in accommodating disabled spectators and visitors on match (or event) and non-match days. To qualify for the award, the club or venue undergoes a Level Playing Field Professional Access Audit and must demonstrate that it meets all good practice standards, equality and access legislation and building regulations for accessible sports stadia.
London’s Wembley Stadium and Emirates Stadium, two state-of-the-art stadiums, were the first of many clubs to join the charity’s Centre of Excellence over ten years ago.
2012: Rugby League announce full Level Playing Field access audits of all stadiums
Following Arsenal and Wembley’s Centre of Excellence achievement it led to the success of the Level Playing Field Access Audit programme which gained respect and recognition across a range of sports.
Later on in the year, the audits reached the Rugby League where it was announced all stadia would receive a thorough audit from the charity’s access team.
This was a significant milestone within the sport as all clubs received an access audit and were later developed to improve accessibility.
2013: Arsenal are the first Premier League club to have a Changing Places
Changing Places facilities are a crucial part of the matchday experience for some fans. A spacious, clean, and private environment with equipment for those limited with their own ability to help them either use the toilet or have their continence pad changed.
Arsenal was the first top-flight club to have one installed at Emirates Stadium in 2013, and plenty more clubs followed.
2013: Wrexham Racecourse ground hosts first autism-friendly football league match
Welsh club AFC Wrexham staged an autism-friendly football match in association with local charity Autism Wishes, the Wrexham Supporters Trust, and the club’s Disabled Supporters Association during the club’s 2-0 win over Woking, a first in Britain.
Less than ten years later, Wrexham became Wales’ first autism-friendly club.
2014: Derby County receive Level Playing Field Centre of Excellence award
Derby County became the first football league club, and only the third stadium in the country to receive the Level Playing Field Centre of Excellence award.
The club were innovative in making many excellent improvements and provisions for its disabled fans. These included several smart and “low-cost ground-breaking” solutions that have established good practice examples for existing stadiums Level Playing field hoped other clubs will look to adopt. The club worked closely with its Disabled Supporters Association and recognised the value of ongoing user-led consultation to achieve this status.
2015: Premier League Pledge to meet accessible stadia guidelines by 2017
In February 2015, Premier League clubs agreed that improving provisions for their disabled supporters would be a priority for investment for the three-season period starting 2016/17.
In September 2015 that decision was followed up with a unanimous commitment to meet with the guidance contained in the Accessible Stadia Guide (ASG) by Season 2017/18.
“Everyone at Level Playing Field is totally delighted by tonight’s news. It has been a very long time coming (more than 14 years) but we wholeheartedly welcome this announcement from the Premier League and its clubs,” a Level Playing Field statement read.
2016: Stadium of Light wins award for sensory room
The Nathan Shippey Sensory Room, named after a young supporter who helped develop the first-of-its-kind project, opened in August 2015.
The room is used for fans that may struggle with the heightened noise and atmosphere on a matchday, and for those that have additional sensory needs. It acts as a safe space for supporters to be able to enjoy a match in a peaceful, supportive and accessible environment.
2016: Swansea City win award for online ticketing system for disabled fans
2017: Brighton & Hove Albion receive Level Playing Field Centre of Excellence award
2017: Newport County becomes first Welsh dementia-friendly football league club
2018: Swansea City launch autism friendly match day guides
The Welsh club launched their new matchday guides for autistic supporters as part of World Autism Awareness Day. The guides were a direct result of the club’s work in partnership with autism charity Stepping Stones, as well as following consultation with Swans’ supporters and volunteer group Step Together Swansea.
2018: Manchester City receive Level Playing Field Centre of Excellence award
2018: Glamorgan County Cricket Club become the first cricket club to form a DSA
Disabled Supporter’s Associations (DSA’s) are a key part of a club’s relationship with its disabled fans. Many football clubs across the country have a DSA, and the two work closely together to improve the club’s experience for disabled supporters.
Glamorgan became the first cricket club to launch a DSA for its fans.
2018: Launch of 6th edition of Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds
Level Playing Field welcomed the publication of the sixth edition of the “Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds” (Green Guide).
The previous edition was published in 2008 and there have been a number of changes in legislation and best practice in the past ten years. The sixth edition ensured all references to British Standards, Building Regulations and other advisory documents have been updated.
2019: Level Playing Field host first national forum
The charity held its first national forum in 2019 at Mk Dons’ Stadium MK, and was well attended by fans, DSAs, clubs, governing bodies and organisations from across England and Wales.
The forum included a panel Q&A focusing on how to drive greater access and inclusion, Paralympic gold medallist Stephen Miller MBE and Chris Fry from Fry Law as guest speakers, breakout sessions, and a segment called ‘The Critical Friend: The DSA’.
2020: Level Playing Field launches its podcast series
The Level Playing Field podcast launch in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, and there has since been 27 episodes.
The podcast covers major events that affect disabled fans, and invites guests from fellow charities, clubs, fans themselves, and other key figures in sport.
You can stream all episodes here.
2021: Level Playing Field announce partnership with the Wheelchair Football Association
Last year marked the start of an official partnership between the national governing body of wheelchair football, the Wheelchair Football Association (WFA).
The focus for the WFA is to promote and develop their sport so that more disabled people are able to actively participate in playing wheelchair football.
Having worked together on a couple of projects in the past, the two organisations decided that an official partnership would be the best way to work more closely together in future and also help to highlight the good work that each other are involved in.
2021: Tottenham Hotspur introduce British Sign Language stadium tours
2021: Access Audits to be undertaken at Racecourses
Level Playing Field teamed up with the Racecourse Association to enhance race day experience for disabled racegoers, as horse racing was the latest sport to be given an auditing contract by the charity.
2022: Stoke City make kit changes to improve the experiences of colourblind fans
Ahead of the 2022/23 season, Stoke City made a number of retail changes around their new kit launch to assist colour blinds fans with their shopping experience.
The club renamed all replica kit items. For example, rather than stating ‘Away Shirt’, they have called it the ‘White Away Shirt’. This decision was based on the feedback the club retail manager received from a Level Playing Field training programme, which stated how people with colour sight issues would have to go into the product details online to see what colour the item was.
Now, all products in Stoke City’s store state the colour of any item.
2022: Liverpool become the first club to achieve Makaton-friendly status
Makaton is a language programme that uses symbols and signs with speech to support children and adults with communication difficulties.
By using the Makaton Friendly scheme, the club can make its services accessible to everyone, especially those who use Makaton to aid their communication.
2022: EFL clubs to be allowed to wear away kits at home to improve colour-blind spectators’ match day experience
As improvements for colourblind fans continued, a new rule came about to allow EFL clubs to wear away kits at home to avoid colour clashes for colourblind supporters.