The event took place on the 29th of May 2013 in Zagreb, Croatia, and was organised by the regional Youth-Info Centre “Rijeka-UMKI”, to promote a newly published manual against all forms of discrimination in football, entitled ‘Power of Tolerance’.

The promotion brought together key stakeholders, including UEFA, the Croatian Football Association, the Association of Premier League Clubs, football clubs, Croatian Association “Football Union“, Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, Ministry of Interior Affairs, Croatian Olympic Association, supporters groups and local NGOs.

CAFE was invited as a key speaker, and as one of the main contributors to the manual who provided good practice solutions for creating an accessible stadium and matchday experience. 

CAFE Head of Development in Eastern Europe Elena Karpukhina spoke about the importance of good access and inclusion of all football fans regardless their nationality, race, age or disability. Elena also presented the UEFA and CAFE Good Practice Guide 'Access of All' which is now available in 13 languages, including Croatian, and can be downloaded here.

The second part of the event was dedicated to the Anti-discrimination Award ceremony which was given in two categories - for collective and individual achievements. The first award went to FC Rijeka, for their anti-discrimination campaign; and the second one was presented to Dario Šimić, the president of Croatian Association “Football Union“, for his efforts in promoting better standards in professional football.

CAFE is looking forward to further fruitful cooperation with the local stakeholders to improve the matchday experience of disabled football supporters and promote good practice in the region.

A version of this article is also available in Ukrainian and Russian.

Published 31/05/2013