Level Playing Field’s ‘Unite For Access’ campaign brought sporting communities together to celebrate access and inclusion for disabled fans.
Clubs across the Premier League, EFL, the women’s game, non-league football and the Welsh leagues were involved from March 1-16.
100% of Sky Bet Championship sides were took part and that was replicated across Sky Bet League One for the first time ever.
The charity’s central messaging for this year’s campaign focused on the importance of collective matchday experiences and counteracting rises in disability abuse a barrier to attending live sport.
Level Playing Field’s Patron, Roy Hodgson, launched ‘Unite For Access’ with a film which shared supporters’ personal experiences, and was then followed by focused pieces on defining ableist abuse, the importance of reporting and online abuse.
Chair of Level Playing Field, Tony Taylor, said: “We have been delighted by the engagement in this year’s campaign, from both fans and clubs.
“The past couple of weeks have been so uplifting, yet we have taken the opportunity to address a challenging subject. It was important that we made that decision and hope to have had a lasting impact, that helps make matchdays more inclusive for disabled fans going forward.
“On a local level, it has been encouraging to see some really strong activations at clubs, celebrating the introductions of new services, installations of new facilities and strengthened ties with disabled supporters’ associations.
“Through actions like this, ‘Unite For Access’ has a meaningful impact on the matchday experiences of disabled fans, well beyond the campaign window.
“We are hugely thankful to all of the clubs, disabled supporters’ associations and other organisations that were involved, including the Premier League, EFL, FA, FAW and National League.
“It has been a pleasure to meet with individual fans and staff on matchdays, as without their dedication, we would not see these continued successes.”
For more information, or to get involved, please email: info@levelplayingfield.org.uk