Fans With Disabilities Face Increasing Difficulties Attending Matches
The 2022 Level Playing Field annual fan survey, which gathered real-life matchday experiences of over a thousand disabled sports fans, has shown they are facing increasing difficulties.
Aimed at gathering information to help drive change towards better access and inclusion at sports stadia, the survey offers a detailed insight into the matchday experience of disabled sports fans.
The survey provided the opportunity for fans to give club-specific feedback, which will help clubs to target the areas to improve their facilities and services.
Download the Level Playing Field 2022 annual fan survey report.
Key findings from the survey include:
– The amount of fans for whom ‘Attitudes of others is a barrier when attending live sport’ has almost doubled. The figure jumped from 15% in 2021 to 28.5% this year.
– Over a quarter of disabled fans said that ‘anxiety or lack of confidence is a barrier when attending live sport’. This was an increase from last year – rising from 24.5% to 26.5% – despite covid-19 restrictions abating.
– There was also a significant increase in the number of fans for whom ‘difficulty purchasing tickets’ was a barrier. This rose from 17% of fans in 2021 to 24% this year.
– The number of disabled fans who said they are unable to attend certain sports or sporting venues due to lack of accessibility has increased to 36.5%. This is a significant increase from 30.5% in 2021.
The Football Association of Wales commented on the release of the survey results, stating: “The Football Association of Wales are thankful to Level Playing Fields for providing this crucial data to better understand the landscape of how our disabled fans feel when participating, attending or travelling to Football games across the UK.
“As part of our continued work to improve these process’ for our fans we will use this data to better our ticketing systems, information on facilities and match day experience at a national and domestic level.
“We will continue to work with Level Playing Fields to improve the education given to our clubs, staff and wider football family to deliver inclusion in all areas of the game.”
Image: www.levelplayingfield.org.uk
