As part of the 2014 CAFE Weeks of Action in Poland and Ukraine, a press conference was held in the Hall of Champions at the NSC Olympiyskiy stadium in Kiev to launch an audio-descriptive commentary service.

The briefing was attended by Sergey Simak, the CEO of the State concerned with Sports arenas of Ukraine, Dynamo Kiev Vice-President Alexei Semenenko and CAFE Project Coordinator in Ukraine Oleksandr Ostapa. They spoke about this new service that will be available for blind and partially sighted fans at the stadium.

In addition to this, Oleksandr announced that the NSC Olympiyskiy stadium was the winner of one of the CAFE special recognition awards, presented during the Weeks of Action campaign. This was given to the stadium to recognize their commitment to improving access and the matchday experience of disabled fans.

Sergey Simak said, “We are pleased to support the initiative of CAFE regarding the new service at the stadium. It should be noted that during last match on March 22, 2014 between Dynamo Kiev and Metallurg Zaporizhya, the NSC Olimpiyskiy provided audio-descriptive commentary for the first time. Blind and partially sighted fans have expressed their gratitude and support, and so we are going to use this option on permanent basis. We aim to make football accessible for everyone”.

Oleksandr said, “On behalf of CAFE, I am delighted that the audio-descriptive commentary service will be available for all blind and partially sighted fans at the NSC Olympiyskiy stadium. It gives blind and partially sighted fans the chance to plunge into unforgettable atmosphere of the stadium. They will be able to "see" what happens on the field, on the bench and in the stands thanks to specially trained commentators”.

The audio-descriptive commentary service at the NSC Olimpiyskiy stadium was launched with the support of Dynamo Kyiv as part of the 2014 CAFE Weeks of Action campaign, which takes place on April 5-13, 2014.

TV channels "Football 1" and "Football 2" are general media partners of the 2014 CAFE Weeks of Action campaign.

A version of this article is also available in Russian.

Published 08/04/2014