On the occasion of the resumption of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT League after the international break, Ligue de Football Professional and HandiCaPZéro support blind and visually impaired fans for the 10th consecutive season with the release of Practical guides.
For ten years, the Professional Football League and HandiCaPZéro have combined their expertise to provide the blind and visually impaired with a Ligue 1 Uber Eats guide and another dedicated to Ligue 2 BKT. This flagship device at its launch is still unique in France today.
Season view, days schedule, clubs and teams, all practical content suitable for all blind and visually impaired fans.
Each guide adapts to the needs in three versions: braille, uppercase and audio (CD-ROM, download from handicapzero.org).
In addition to these free guides, supporters of the blind and visually impaired can find a section dedicated to handicapzero.org Collect the results and rankings of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT league.
The publication of these two guides is part of the dynamic that is being taken towards persons with disabilities. In order to improve the accessibility of sports stadiums, the French Football Federation, in collaboration with the French Football Federation and the French Federation of Disabled Football Fans (FFSFH), joined the Erasmus+ project “Good governance needs access and inclusion” in February 2021.
This program led by CAFE (Access to Football in Europe) brings together Belgian and German counterparts (national federations, professional associations and associations of supporters with disabilities), as well as the Portuguese university ENSILIS.
The first phase of the project resulted in the launch of a large survey of Belgian, French and German supporters with disabilities. The aim of this survey, which was conducted in November 2021, was to provide an in-depth understanding of the current state of accessible and inclusive services in each country’s stadiums and the different barriers these regions face.
These results have enabled the association to develop a long-term strategy and identify priority actions to be put in place to improve access and inclusion in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT competitions.
Five main priorities have been identified to facilitate access to French professional football:
- Make tickets easier
- Giving better access to information
- Facilitating access to and entry to the stadium
- Improve access to services
- Comprehensive Experience Guarantee
Several procedures have been proposed for each of these axes. This National Action Plan was presented to CAFE and ENSILIS at the end of May in London by the FFF, FFSFH and LFP; It will be shared with German and Belgian partners in mid-October during a workshop in Lisbon.
It would then be a matter of sharing this national plan with all disability references for professional football clubs and the FFF (or DAO – Access Officer for the Disabled in the UEFA term). Sharing the best practices identified in Europe thanks to the Erasmus+ programme, in particular in relation to the ticketing aspect for example, will make it possible to make recommendations that are viable and achievable by all.
A second survey will be launched in November 2023, a year later, to measure the impact of the strategy and the close cooperation between federations, associations, and associations of disabled supporters. This will make it possible to compare positions and evaluate improvement.
Workshops will also be organized in each of the three countries to identify and exchange best practices at the European level on various topics. The first was held on September 22 at the Stade de France.
This Erasmus+ project will act as a pilot and will develop an action plan and a set of support tools for other National Societies, Leagues and Supporter Groups with Disabilities across Europe and beyond, in order to implement similar measures in their countries.
