Atletico trying to raise awareness of fans with disabilities in Champions League game

MADRID (AP) — Atletico Madrid wants to attract a record number of spectators with disabilities to a Champions League match to raise awareness about inclusion and the need to promote better access to sport for disabled fans in venues across Europe.

Thousands of supporters with disabilities are expected at Atletico’s game against Lille at Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday, when the club could break the record of 1,740 disabled fans set by Real Betis against Valladolid in the Spanish league last year in what UEFA called “the most inclusive match in the world.”

Atletico and its partners in the initiative, including the groups AccessibAll, Integrated Dreams and World Football Summit hope the feat will help launch a movement to improve access for disabled fans in sports venues.

“They proposed to us to do this type of match and automatically we said, ‘Yes,’” Atletico chief operating officer Óscar Mayo told The Associated Press. “We are not worried about the record, it’s more about the awareness, the importance about thinking about these groups, to sensibilize all of society, and to create the awareness that, no matter what, you can enjoy these types of events.”

The match comes a few days after a report by advocacy group Level Playing Field cited difficulties for disabled fans in away stadiums across Europe, including complaints of wheelchair users having to sit alongside supporters of the home team.

UEFA said it’s “committed to strengthening inclusivity and accessibility at stadiums in Europe,” in line with policies and targets outlined in its Football Sustainability Strategy 2030 document. The governing body said each of its licensed clubs must have a dedicated “disabled access officer,” and noted that accessibility guidelines compiled in collaboration with AccessibAll were launched in September. The guidelines stipulate that wheelchair-user spaces shouldn’t be located only in home supporter sectors.

One of the first initiatives similar came in 2015, when more than 1,000 disabled fans attended a local match in Poland, according to UEFA. Little else has been done since then, with Betis’ initiative coming nearly a decade later.

“We found that it’s time to launch more than a record, it’s time to launch a movement,” AccessibAll CEO Olivier Jarosz told the AP. “When we think about disability, we tend to think that it’s people on wheelchair. And actually wheelchair users are 7%, so it’s a true minority. The majority of disabilities are non-visible. It could be visual, it could be mental, it could be cognitive. And there are many, many different challenges.”

According to European Union data, 27% of the EU population over the age of 16 had some form of disability in 2023.

Mayo said other European clubs, without specifying them, have inquired about the plan.

“We decided to do it in a UEFA match because the visibility is bigger,” Mayo said. “If this helps to invite the rest of the teams to join in similar initiatives, it would be great.”

Many times clubs don’t take action because they think there are not enough fans with disabilities interested in attending their matches, so initiatives like the ones by Atletico should help show them that there is a demand for better services.

Germany is likely the country better prepared for fans with disabilities, Jarosz said, in part because it has “the best stadiums” that were used recently in the European Championship. He said the fact that clubs are traditionally owned by fans also helps, and society in general in the country is more used to servicing people with disabilities.

He said France also has improved recently, thanks to the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.

“Certainly things are changing, but they are not moving enough,” Jarosz said. “It’s very difficult to tell you on the global scale the situation, but certainly the governing bodies like FIFA and UEFA realized that this is important because it’s part of the population.”

Atletico attracted fans with disabilities for Wednesday’s match by selling tickets to them at reduced prices and working with its fan groups to spread the word. Fans have to provide their disability card or show a certificate of disability in order to make their purchase.

Mayo said Atletico prepared an “intensive operation” to host the match. There will be specific parking places reserved for supporters with disabilities, and employees dedicated exclusively to help them.

Atletico’s 70,000-capacity stadium is one of the newest and most modern ones in Europe and is considered to be fully equipped to welcome fans with disabilities. Access to and from the stadium in the Spanish capital is also considered to be adequate.

There will be activities before the match at Metropolitano, with exhibitions of wheelchair soccer and stands with information about different types of disabilities. Actors from the Spanish hit movie “Campeones,” a comedy about the importance of inclusion, were set to be on hand, as were members of the Spain blind soccer team.

“These types of action help make the people aware of the importance to think of them,” Mayo said.

The Spanish government, through its inclusion ministry, was also involved in the initiative.

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