Members of the CAFE team recently travelled to Moscow to provide Disability Inclusion and Etiquette Training to club representatives from across Russia.

CAFE Eastern European Development Officer Esther Jones Russell and CAFE Consultant Elena Popova hosted the event at Moscow’s VEB Arena, the home stadium of CSKA Moscow. Head stewards and matchday staff from other clubs and venues across Russia also attended the event, which was opened by Russian Football Union Head of Security and Fans, Aleksey Tolkachev.

The training seminar included a number of practical exercises and focused on many of the barriers that disabled spectators can face in stadiums. The importance of effective communication was also emphasised, and there was a discussion around some of the common misconceptions about disability.

Esther said, “It was a great opportunity to meet with club representatives from across Russia and we hope our training will help to improve awareness around disability and access”.

At the end of the seminar, attendees were presented with a certificate of participation and were asked to complete an anonymous feedback form. Feedback was hugely positive, with many describing the seminar as informative and very useful to their work.

One delegate remarked, “The main message that I have taken from the training is that disabled people are equal members of our society and deserve to be treated with as much respect as everyone else”.

Esther added, “We would like to thank the RFU for their great support in hosting the event, and CSKA Moscow for providing the wonderful venue”.

A version of this article is also available in Russian.

Published 30/05/2017