Accessibility
Article summary
Our football for all abilities policy has a clear goal: everyone in Europe should have access to play, watch and contribute to the beautiful game.
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Article body
European football should be accessible for everyone, whether they are watching or playing the game. But accessibility currently varies significantly from one nation to another, a reflection of different legal and regulatory requirements.
To help level the playing field, we offer financial support to our member associations to promote the inclusion of disabled people in all areas of football, for example, through our HatTrick development programme, which reinvests men’s EURO revenue into development projects.
We also work with European disability football associations and national associations to increase opportunities to play the game at both grassroots and national team level. This includes training for referees and coaches to work with visually impaired and blind players.
Stadium experience
The accessibility of football stadium facilities is an important consideration when we select venues to host UEFA competition finals and tournaments, particularly regarding infrastructure and services. We ensure there are focal points across European football dedicated to improving stadium accessibility for disabled people – at local, club and national level.
On European matchdays, we offer spectator guides for disabled people and audio-descriptive commentaries. This service is provided by a specially trained commentator, who provides additional narration describing all significant visual information – body language, facial expressions, scenery, action, clothing, colours. etc. – that is important to conveying the image, venue, match, event or surrounding ambience.
In 2023, we streamlined the process for disabled fans to validate their eligibility for accessible tickets. Under the new procedure, the validation process need only be completed once; the buyer is then automatically eligible for accessible tickets to all future UEFA matches.
Accessibility Guidelines & Checklist
Our accessibility guidelines and checklist are designed to help football stakeholders, including national associations, leagues and clubs, remove barriers to participation for people of all abilities.
They explain how accessibility can be integrated into every aspect of football, from infrastructure and operational processes to workforce training, services and matchday activities.
