On 8th February 2017, Manchester City FC and Manchester City Disabled Supporters Association (DSA) hosted the first North West Regional Forum at the Etihad Stadium.
The forum was organised by Level Playing Field (LPF) and Manchester City Disabled Supporters Association (MCDSA) with generous support from Manchester City FC. The objective of the forum is to provide a medium where individual DSAs and club representatives can network and share best practise.
There were presentations from Level Playing Field, Manchester City FC, Manchester City DSA and City in the Community. Delegates discussed a wide range of topics including stadium safety and ticketing procedures.
The North West forum is the third regional forum to be established as part of Level Playing Field’s Working Together Project and there was unanimous agreement for the forum to continue.
Forum minutes can be found here and a summary can be found here.
LPF Project Coordinator Kieran Reynolds said, “I would like to thank MCFC and MCDSA for hosting the event. It was great to see DSAs, clubs and other stake holders network and share best practice with each other. We are looking to establish forums in other regions as we believe they help improve the matchday experience for all disabled fans”.
LPF General Manager Ruth Hopkins said “Level Playing Field was delighted to set up the first North West Forum as part of our Working Together project and we are very grateful to Manchester City FC and Manchester City Disabled Supporters Association for their help in making this possible. The Regional Forums are becoming increasingly popular and we recognise there is a demand for them around the country – with the possibility even for a national forum to be established in the future. Thank you to everyone who attended and made it such an informative and enjoyable afternoon”.
Manchester City DSA Secretary Mark Barber said “It was an honour and great pleasure to host the first North West Forum meeting together with MCFC and LPF at the Etihad Stadium. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend and played such an important role in making the day a success. Disabled supporters from all clubs face similar issues so it was fantastic to see representatives from North West clubs coming together to form one joined up team. The whole room interacted excellently together throughout a very constructive day.”
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