The Erasmus+ “Good Governance Needs Access and Inclusion” project partners came together virtually to discuss the results of the first research survey which took place at the end of 2021.

This project is a partnership between CAFE, Universidade Europeia - Portugal (ENSILIS), national associations and leagues in Belgium (KBVB and Pro League), France (FFF and LFP) and Germany (DFB and DFL), as well as national disabled supporters associations from each country (Inter, FFSFH and BBAG respectively)

The aim of this initial survey of disabled fans across Belgium, France and Germany was to provide an in-depth understanding of the current status of accessible and inclusive services at stadiums in each country and the different barriers faced across these areas.

The results were gathered and analysed by partner university, Universidade Europeia in Portugal and presented back to the partners in this first meeting of Year 2 of the project.

The National Association, League and National Disabled Supporters Association of each country will all receive a detailed overview report of the results and a country specific report showing the findings relating to each partner country

These results will enable the project partners to create a long-term strategy and to identify priority actions to be implemented to improve access and inclusion across national leagues and competitions in each nation.

To measure the impact of the strategy and the close collaboration between national associations, leagues and their national disabled supporter associations, a second survey will be launched in 2023.

This will enable a comparison study between the status of access and inclusion in football prior to the creation of a national strategy and one year after its publication.

The second survey will also reveal whether there has been a positive increase in the way disabled fans view their relationship with footballing authorities.

This Erasmus+ project will serve as a pilot, creating a tested roadmap and supporting toolkit for other national associations, leagues and disabled fan groups across Europe and beyond to implement similar measures in their own countries.

CAFE and the project partners would like to thank all of the survey participants that took the time to share their experiences of attending football matches.

For more information about the ‘Good Governance Needs Access and Inclusion’ project, please visit the Erasmus+ Project dedicated webpage on the CAFE website or contact the project coordinator, CAFE, either by email [email protected] or telephone +44 (0) 203 355 9867

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