After a 4 month reconstruction period, large changes were made to the home stadium of Ukrainian club Shakhtar Sverdlovsk.

Notably, the main and reserve fields were re-laid, the drainage system was repaired and a modern watering system was installed.

The Centre for Access to Football in Europe supported by the head of a local non-governmental organization “Life without barriers”, Grigoriy Kalashnikov, contributed to the improvements made to the stadium's accessible facilities. After negotiations with the club and stadium representatives, access improvement for disabled people was included in the reconstruction plan.

As an example of good European recommendations, “Access for All” was presented to the stadium representatives. This document was created by UEFA and CAFE and includes examples of effective solutions for new and old stadia.  This guide is available on our website in 13 European languages.

As a result, the pavement levels were lowered so that local disabled supporters could easily enter the territory near the stadium. The entrance to the administrative building was ramped, and through this building disabled supporters can go directly to the pitch.

There is also an accessible toilet for disabled supporters near the stadium. The surface of the pedestrian ways was modified in order to create barrier-free access for disabled supporters to all the buildings. The small training and sports grounds should also be accessible soon.

Thanks to the cooperation between CAFE, local non-governmental organisations and football clubs more and more stadia in Ukraine are becoming more accessible for all supporters.

Published 15/09/2013