At Saturday's match against Cambridge United, we are asking all supporters to 'Unite For Access.' as part of Level Playing Field's annual campaign.
An estimated 22% of the UK population are disabled, making disabled people the largest minority group in the UK.
Still, many disabled sports fans feel that attending live sports is not possible, due to the environmental and societal barriers that disabled football fans face, which make matchdays inaccessible.
The most recent Level Playing Field Fan survey found that 28.5% of disabled sports fans considered the attitudes of others to be a barrier when attending live sport, and over a quarter of disabled fans, 36.5%, said they are unable to attend certain sports or sporting venues due to lack of accessibility.
Exeter City is proud to participate in Level Playing Field’s new national campaign, 'Unite For Access' – a celebration of accessibility and inclusion for disabled sports fans.
Level Playing Field is the leading charity advocating for disabled sports fans in England and Wales, and our dedicated 'Unite For Access' matchday is one of many happening across stadiums up and down the country over two weeks.
As a club, we believe that all people should be able to attend live sports, regardless of disability. We are committed to making Exeter City accessible to all, and will continue to take steps to improve, but we also call on all supporters to come with us on this journey, we all have our part to play.
We know that talking about disability can be daunting sometimes, it’s a complex subject matter. That’s why we invite all supporters, disabled and non-disabled, to engage with us on this important campaign and to ensure access and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.
Speaking about the Level Playing Field, Jeanne Jones, Exeter City Disabled Supporters Liaison Officer, said: "One day every year we highlights disabilties within our fan base to see how we can improve the match day experience for supporters with any disabilties. This year we are focusing on autism which effects so many of our children. We want them to be able to come to a game and feel included. We are covring all sorts of hidden disabilties and we need to highlight these.
"On the match day, you will see people wearing t-shirts, there will be information and graphics on social media, the big screen, advertising LED boards and I will be around to talk to anyomne who wants to find out more about what we do."
Good disability access benefits everyone, and that's why we ask all to:
- Unite for Your Team
- Unite for your fans
- #UniteForAccess
If you want to know more about the work of Level Playing Field please visit www.levelplayingfield.org.uk, or find them across social media by searching Level Playing Field.