Monday 3 December is International Day of Disabled People 2018, and CAFE is joining with groups and individuals across the world to celebrate the many important roles that disabled people can play within society.

International Day of Disabled People has been celebrated since 1992, when the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 47/3, encouraging its member states to intensify their efforts to improve access and inclusion.

Each year, International Day of Disabled People celebrates a particular theme. The theme of International Day of Disabled People 2018 is Empowering Disabled People and Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality.

The theme ties in with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, pledging to "leave no one behind".

Activities are taking place across the globe to celebrate International Day of Disabled People, including at the United Nations where the UN Secretary-General will launch a flagship report, entitled “UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development | 2018 – Realizing the SDGs by, for and with disabled people”.

At CAFE, we are committed to the further empowerment of disabled people through the unique power of football.

One way we seek to achieve this is through the creation of user-led pan-disability supporter groups. Our Disabled Supporter Association (DSA) Information Pack is a useful resource for any disabled fans or advocates looking to create such a group, outlining the potential benefits a DSA can have.

To find out more about the CAFE Disabled Supporter Association Information Pack and to download in five languages, please click here.

Another important way that CAFE seeks to empower disabled people is by providing disabled football fans with the opportunity to provide first-hand feedback on their matchday experiences.

Disabled fans may have very different matchday experiences to non-disabled fans or even to differently disabled fans, and it is important that their feedback is used to improve access and inclusion. CAFE created a Matchday Evaluation Feedback Form to make this process as easy as possible. Feedback is then shared with the relevant club, stadium or national association, and the real-life experiences of disabled fans are used to try to improve the situation.

Crucially, disabled fans feedback is treated with importance and there has been many instances where such feedback has resulted in big changes being made.

At CAFE, we celebrate access and inclusion every day of the year and we are pleased to take part in International Day of Disabled People 2018. Our next major celebration of the important roles disabled people can play will take place on 2-10 March 2019, as CAFE launches our seventh annual Week of Action.

If you are taking part in any activities to celebrate International Day of Disabled People 2018 we would like to hear about it! You can email us at i[email protected], find us on Facebook or Twitter @cafefootball, on Instagram @cafefootball.eu, or use the hashtag #TotalAccess.

To find out more about International Day of Disabled People 2018, visit the United Nations website here.

Published 03/12/2018