In June 2015, the UEFA Executive Committee approved new Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations, which included a provision requiring clubs to appoint a dedicated Disability Access Officer (DAO).

Article 46 of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations states;

46.01 - The licence applicant must have appointed a disability access officer to support the provision of inclusive, accessible facilities and services.

46.02 - The disability access officer will regularly meet and collaborate with the relevant club personnel on all related matters.

Download the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations.

UEFA commissioned CAFE to implement the DAO role across its 55 member states, including providing training sessions and establishing a network of DAOs to share best practice examples.

To support national associations in implementing UEFA Club Licensing regulations, UEFA has published a System Guide to offer further information to licensing applicants on how to comply.

The System Guide states, "The licensor must check that the licence applicants have a DAO that acts as the key contact point for disabled supporters, but also collaborates and regularly communicates with relevant club personnel, e.g. top management, stadium manager, security officer, SLO, ticketing manager, human resources, etc".

It is the licensing manager’s responsibility to ensure that the DAO performs the required duties. Licence applicants who are found to appoint a DAO who is not fully committed to the role should be brought into compliance with the licensing regulations through training and support. Within this context, a licensor can check that a licence applicant is complying with this requirement by asking it, as part of the regulatory framework, to submit evidence of the DAO’s work, e.g. job description, minutes of meetings, internal emails/memos, DAO/accessibility development plans, annual reports, website articles, etc. The licensor should also ensure that licence applicants submit stadium and club access information as part of the services required by a DAO under Article 35bis.

It is recommended for the licensor to develop tools for assessing the effectiveness of the DAO work undertaken by clubs, including organising periodical workshops or training seminars at licensor level. Furthermore, licensors should keep an updated list of contact details for all the licensees’ DAOs, whenever possible sharing them with UEFA.

Please also see the CAFE national DAO coordinator helpsheet for further advice and guidance.

For more information about the national DAO coordinator role, please email CAFE at [email protected] or call +44 (0)203 355 9867.