On 9 January, CAFE met with MIVA United and the KNVB to discuss the experiences of disabled football fans in the Netherlands.

MIVA United is the national disabled supporters group in the Netherlands, working to promote access and inclusion for all Dutch disabled fans. MIVA United’s President Johan ten Hoove was in attendance, with fellow MIVA United members Raymond Klaassen and Heike ten Hoove.

Jan Bluyssen, Competition Coordinator of the KNVB, hosted the meeting along with CAFE Managing Director Joanna Deagle and Fans Liaison Amy Wilson.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss MIVA United’s development as a National Disabled Supporters Association and how the KNVB and CAFE could support the continued development of the group in the coming years.

Items discussed at the meeting included accessibility issues at clubs in the Netherlands and how to reach out to clubs and their disabled fans across the country. MIVA United aims to expand the group to represent a wider number of Dutch disabled fans.

A number of suggestions were made on how MIVA United could gain wider exposure for their works and raise further awareness of the group. This included attending supporters events held by the KNVB and an increased social media presence.

CAFE also offered to promote and share news updates from MIVA United with the CAFE network, via its website and social media channels.

CAFE would like to thank Jan for hosting this meeting and the members of MIVA United for their participation. We look forward to a close cooperation in the coming months.                    

To keep up to date with the latest news from MIVA United, they can be found on Twitter at @MIVAUnited.

For more information on setting up a disabled supporters group, or for further information on how CAFE can support an existing group, please contact CAFE via telephone on: +44(0)208 065 5108 or via email: [email protected].

A version of this article is also available in Russian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, German and Spanish.

Published 20/01/2017