Under the umbrella of the CAFE Week of Action, the Football for All Disability in Football Alliance came together for its second virtual meeting on Wednesday 16 March 2022.

This time, the Alliance brought in an expert panel to discuss the role of media and marketing in access and inclusion for disabled people in football. 

The Alliance aims to ensure disabled people’s participation beyond playing aspects of sport, and address the low level of disabled people in decision-making roles in football. 

During the meeting, expert panellists Anna Johannes (Porter Novelli) and Kathryn Swallow (Degree/Unilever) shared their insights and on disability inclusion within sports media. Several brands, media agencies and broadcasting companies also joined the conversation.  

The discussion showed that disabled people are now finally featuring in brand campaigns at both the point of design and within the campaigns themselves, but there is still far to go. Companies are beginning to see the value of accessible design, and that the inclusion of disabled people ultimately increases profits.  

The speakers suggested that partnerships are key and that brands and organisations need to be in dialogue, share learnings, include disabled people at every stage, and work collaboratively towards change.

Anna said, "We can just go up from here. Seeing brands like Degree, Nike or Tommy involving disability in their agenda is a big step. People and brands are now really starting to get around this topic".

Kathryn added, "When we launched our big campaign last year, we tried to look inside the lives of disabled people. It’s key to have the inside experiences of the people involved in the campaign".

For more information about the alliance and future meetings, please contact Joanna Deagle by email [email protected] or phone +44 (0)7463697659.

Published 18/3/2022