Tenth CAFE Week of Action celebrates inclusion across European football
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Article summary
Annual March event highlights the positive role disabled people can play in our communities.
Article top media content
Article body
The CAFE (Centre for Access to Football in Europe) Week of Action is a unique opportunity for clubs, venues, federations and supporters groups to celebrate disabled people and the important role they can play in both sport and the wider society.
Running from 12 March until 20 March, this season's campaign saw CAFE's message of #TotalAccess spread across Europe and beyond thanks to the fantastic support of the football community.
In Spain, Athletic Club lit up their San Mamés Stadium in blue with CAFE Week of Action graphics and Real Betis have teamed up with disabled fans to launch a range of footwear produced using recycled materials, while Belgium's ProLeague has posted a video raising awareness around audio-descriptive commentary (ADC), one of CAFE's main focus points.
In Scotland, Rangers announced the appointment of a new Disability Access Officer and hosted a stadium touch-tour for partially sighted and blind fans, and St Johnstone announced they had re-established the club’s disabled supporters association, empowering disabled fans and encouraging positive dialogue with the club.
In Armenia, two clubs have appointed players as ambassadors for their disabled fans – Artur Kartashyan met FC Noah supporters at a first-team training session, while BMKA Yerevan have done the same with Styopa Mkrtchyan as ambassador.
Other clubs including Dinamo Zagreb, who provided healthy eating classes for young disabled people, Celtic, AC Milan and Sevilla also joined the campaign, and national associations including Portugal, North Macedonia, Hungary and Northern Ireland have further activities planned.
How does UEFA work with CAFE?
CAFE has been one of UEFA’s core Football and Social Responsibility partners since 2009, working to improve the matchday experience of disabled fans and utilise the power of sport to bring about change within the wider society.
During the Week of Action, CAFE managing director Joanna Deagle joined a UEFA working group visiting the National Arena in Tirana, ahead of the venue hosting the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League Final on 25 May.
The visit was designed to assess the accessible facilities and services available already at the stadium, with a view to ensuring that the venue is accessible and inclusive both ahead of the Final and in legacy for local disabled fans.
Michele Uva, UEFA director of football and social responsibility:
"UEFA is happy to support the CAFE Week of Action, highlighting the importance of football being accessible, inclusive and welcoming for all. UEFA’s sustainability strategy – Strength Through Unity - has clear targets that we want to achieve and with CAFE we are working to improve the football experience of disabled fans.
"The creation and development of accessible seating, not just in greater numbers but also in better locations, with improved sightlines inside stadiums, is still one of the focal points for our partnership."
Joanna Deagle, CAFE managing director:
"We are grateful to have been working with UEFA on accessibility at its finals and tournaments for a number of years, and the access appraisals we undertake on these visits play a vital role in ensuring disabled fans can enjoy an accessible, inclusive and welcoming experience at the match.
"We know that accessible transport and accommodation options are limited across the globe, so it is essential that access information is made available as early as possible to disabled people planning to travel."