The Royal National Institute for Blind People have stressed the importance of representing blind and partially sighted sports fans alongside other disabled supporters, in the 2023 Level Playing Field Annual Fan Survey results.
8% of the respondents identified themselves as having a ‘sight disability’. This came, as a record number of supporters took part in the charity’s third annual survey, with data from across the 1791 total responses displayed in the results.
RNIB stakeholder engagement manager, Gareth Davies, said: “It is really important to have blind a partially sighted supporters’ perspectives taken into account, alongside other disabled fans.
“We are grateful to Level Playing Field for continuing to bang the drum and push the agenda on access and inclusion across sport.
“In addition to making the voices of blind and partially sighted fans heard, we are pleased to have them working directly alongside us as part of ‘See Sport Differently’ in particular on best practice guidance we are developing for clubs and governing bodies.
“That collaborative work demonstrates a strong commitment to blind and partially sighted fans, with proactive work to improve matchday provisions in the areas raised through this report.”
Key issues raised in the 2023 results, include year-on-year increases of ‘inaccessible public transport’ and ‘disability abuse’ as barriers to attending live sport. There was also specific focus on additional disability-related costs to attending and the impact of pyrotechnics.
These areas are each relevant to many blind and partially sighted fans, but do not exclusively impact them. Representation alongside fellow disabled supporters is therefore a powerful tool to push for improvements with.
Level Playing Field chief executive, Owain Davies, said: “Representing all disabled fans is vitally important to us and we were therefore very pleased to see this report reflect the experiences across supporters with such a wide range of disabilities.
“Combining the overarching picture with the expertise of organisations like the RNIB equips us perfectly to make effective changes.
“Our ongoing work together on ‘See Sport Differently’ will help us deliver a template for improvements and the importance of that collaboration has been emphasised through these results.”
The full results report from the 2023 Level Playing Field Annual Fan Survey can be viewed , here.