New RNIB Research Shows How Blind And Partially Sighted People Can’t Attend Sporting Events As Venues Not Set Up For People With Sight Loss

RNIB guide shows how football clubs can make simple easy adaptions so match days are enjoyable and welcoming for fans with sight loss

To tie in with International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3rd December, the Royal National Institute of Blind people (RNIB) has published new research which highlights how blind and partially sighted fans want to attend football matches and identifies some of the challenges that they face when attending live matches.

• Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of all blind and partially sighted people said they couldn’t experience or access a sporting event properly because a venue doesn’t accommodate for people with sight loss
• 41 per cent of blind and partially sighted fans say lack of accessible communication like audio‑described commentary during a match, accessible event day programme in large print and braille puts them off attending a live sporting event

However, the research showed some positives with nearly two fifths (38 per cent) of blind and partially sighted people saying that their football stadiums had made a lot of adaptions to make the live viewing experience more accessible.

Tied in with this research, RNIB has created a new guide, See Sport Differently Guidance, showing how sports venues can make the match day experience accessible for fans with sight loss, having worked closely with Arsenal, Everton, Plymouth Argyle, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wrexham to develop best practice, as well as holding focus groups with blind and partially sighted people to better understand the issues they face when attending live football matches.

RNIB has showed the clubs how best to welcome blind and partially sighted fans into their stadiums to ensure they are able enjoy football matches without feeling excluded. RNIB is now proactively sharing the guide with all English Football League (EFL) and Premier League clubs to make their stadiums more accessible to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2023 on 3rd December.

Matt Stringer, RNIB’s Chief Executive commented on the launch of the RNIB’s See Sport Differently Guidance: ‘Working with clubs across the football pyramid to create a guide that will enhance the match day experience for people with sight loss has been a fantastic experience for us. I’m also thankful to the EFL for sharing the guidance with all its 72 member clubs. It contains some handy checklists and quick wins that clubs can implement to help make stadiums easier for blind and partially sighted fans to navigate.

“Live sporting events need to be easier for blind and partially sighted fans to enjoy. Our new research shows that getting to and from a stadium can be a difficult task for people with sight loss, coupled with when at the stadium, the facilities on offer are not accessible. I enjoy the match‑day experience at Watford and blind and partially sighted fans should be able to do so as I do.

“It would make a big difference if match day stewards and all fan‑facing staff are trained to be sight loss aware. Making stadiums physical environment easy to navigate through clear signage, marked steps and marked handrails make a big difference in making blind and partially sighted people feel welcome. Also, technology such as audio description and quality match day commentary really helps brings the game to life and should be available at every fixture so that blind and partially sighted fans can fully enjoy the beautiful game.”

Charlotte Jones, partially sighted Wolverhampton Wanderers FC season ticket holder and from Wolverhampton, said: “We need everyone to join in to help create a more inclusive match day for fans with sight loss.

“On match days, my Dad assists me with the challenges I face when attending matches, such as accessing the stadium and navigating through crowds and steps to get to our seats.

“We’ve received great support from the club who have helped us to select seats so that I can have the best spectator experience possible like sighted fans do.

“They’ve helped to locate seats where the sun wouldn’t be in my eyes during a game, which is very important as glare can affect my vision, and seats near to the halfway line so I can follow the game more easily.”

RNIB See Sport Differently Guidance

RNIB’s See Sport Differently Guidance on making the match day experience accessible for spectators with sight loss is available to download here and can be shared with your football club to show how they can make their stadium more accessible for fans with sight loss.

The launch of the guidance is part of the See Sport Differently campaign, a campaign partnership between RNIB and British Blind Sport.