French project partners working with CAFE on our Erasmus+ project, ‘Good Governance Needs Access and Inclusion’ met recently to present their strategy for delivering their project aims.

(in French)

The project, working towards good governance in sport through integrating disabled fans’ feedback into national strategies, kicked off in January 2021 with CAFE joining representatives of national associations, leagues and national disabled supporters associations in Belgium, France and Germany.

Universidade Europeia - Portugal (ENSILIS) is also working on the project, and joined the meeting with French partners.

Fédération Française de Football (FFF – national association), Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP – the top two leagues in French football) and Fédération Francaise des Supporters de Football Handicapés (FFSFH – national disabled supporters association) each took it in turns to present their own strategies, informed by a report created by ENSILIS and a review carried out by FFSFH and its members.

Priorities were outlined during the meeting, including harmonising ticket prices and practices across clubs to give disabled fans the opportunity to purchase tickets online, and ensuring important access information is published online.

The partners also discussed the need for minimum parking standards and improvements on the journey to a stadium for a disabled fan, as well as signage in and around the stadium, accessible facilities and services, and ensuring inclusivity for differently disabled fans right across the matchday experience.

CAFE Managing Director Joanna Deagle, who also took part in the meeting, said "I would like to extend a huge thank you to FFF, LFP, FFSFH and ENSILIS for a hugely productive and positive meeting. The French partners have devised a clear and ambitious strategy that will greatly benefit many disabled fans, and ultimately lead to a much more inclusive game for all”.

The FFF plans to host a meeting of the partners in September 2022.

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Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. The programme is managed by the European Commission, and offers funding for international actions to promote inclusive opportunities.

For more information about the ‘Good Governance Needs Access and Inclusion’ project, please email [email protected] or call +44 (0)208 065 5108.

The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Published 27/7/2022