CAFE is delighted to announce that our proposal to deliver an Erasmus+ project has been accepted.

The project, entitled ‘Good Governance Needs Access and Inclusion’ (reference number 622695-EPP-1-2020-1-UK-SPO-SCP), will see CAFE form a Collaborative Partnership with a number of key stakeholders in addressing the need for greater representation of disabled people within sporting governance.

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.

The project will last for three years, starting in January 2021 and running until December 2023.

CAFE will be working alongside national associations and leagues in Belgium (KBVB and Pro League), France (FFF and LFP) and Germany (DFB and DFL), as well national disabled supporters associations from each country (Inter, FFSFH and BBAG respectively), and Universidade Europeia - Portugal (ENSILIS). Together, we will work towards good governance in sport through ensuring disabled fan feedback is integrated into national strategies to improve access and inclusion in football.

DSAs play a crucial role in unifying and empowering disabled people to act as self-advocates. A pan-disability DSA can advise on access and inclusion at both a club and national level, and enables disabled people to speak with one shared voice on the topic.

Whilst a DSA should be independent of any clubs, leagues and national associations, it is important that a positive, collaborative dialogue is established so they can work together successfully. Through this Erasmus+ project, we aim to create a platform for increased exchange, understanding and collaboration between each national DSA (NDSA) and their national association and league.

In turn, we hope that sporting authorities will also gain a deeper understanding of the barriers that disabled people face in attending their games and NDSAs will increase their skills and tools to support club level DSAs in their country, so that improvements can be made locally and more profoundly.

A range of project activities have been agreed upon, including workshops with national associations, leagues and NDSAs, surveys of disabled fans, and the development of national access strategies. CAFE will continue to communicate news and updates of the project via our website and social media channels.

CAFE Managing Director Joanna Deagle said, “This is a hugely exciting opportunity and one that we are very grateful to be taking part in. The project will kick off with a first partners meeting in January 2021, and we look forward to working closely with our project partners and making a real change for disabled people – the world’s largest and often most under-represented minority group”.

The European Commission's support for the project 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 published through this project.

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

Published 21/12/20