Level Playing Field staff members reflect on the recently concluded ‘Unite For Access’ campaign, in the latest episode the charity’s podcast.
Fans liaison officer, Liam Bird is joined by chief executive, Owain Davies, Fan engagement & enquiry officer, Mark Phillips and media and communications officer, Joseph Crabtree, to explore the campaign’s impact on disabled sports fans, matchday and non-match day activities and the future of ‘Unite For Access’.
The podcast episode can be found here, or via your chosen podcast platform and the full transcript is available below.
Liam: Hello and ah, welcome to the Level Playing Field podcast. My name is Liam Bird and I am the fan liaison officer here at, level playing Field. And joining me today are, three of my colleagues from the organisation. First up is the chief executive of level playing field, Owine Davis. Hello, Owain.
Owain: Hi, Liam. How we doing?
Liam: All good, thank you. Next up, media and comms officer Joey Crabtree, or Joseph, whatever you prefer.
Joey: Take your pick, Liam. Good to be with you.
Liam: And the newest member, the baby of level play field, our fan engagement and inquiry officer, Mark M. Phillips. How are you, Mark?
Mark: Hi, Liam. I’m good, thanks. How are you?
Liam: I’m all good, thank you very much. Ah, guys, thanks for joining us.
We’ve got like a little collective Level Playing Field kumbaya because we are going to talk the ‘Unite For Access’ campaign that has just finished and the idea of this podcast is to look back at what happened and also to look forward at what’s going to happen next year and also, the impact of the campaign. For those people who might not know what the Unite For Access campaign is, let me just very quickly do a summary. So, the Unite for Access campaign is Level Playing Field’s yearly national campaign, whereabouts, we ask clubs and fans to celebrate all things access and inclusion. However, it’s also an opportunity to raise a spotlight on the possible barriers that still are in place for some disabled fans when attending live sport.
So let’s look back at the campaign and I’m going to start with all of you with a really easy question. What was your favourite moment of the Unite For Access campaign? I will come to you first, Owain.
Owain: There’s absolutely loads, and I’m not going to dominate and take all the good points from Joey and Mark. But my favourite part was probably that first Friday night, a game that I went up to, to Elland Road. Huge game, Leeds, Leicester, and then that half time to see the video being shown out. And I just think that it was just such a positive moment that the video is an incredible video, educating people. And I know we’ll speak about it a little bit later on, but if anyone who hasn’t watched it, take the time to watch it. But not only that, take the time to share it and to ensure that we can get that message across because it was so powerful and to see it with so many thousands of fans just watching it on that opening night, I was just so impressed, so pleased that it is more than just a campaign. It’s something that we can really showcase the real life match day experience with disabled fans. But also to educate fans who don’t – might not have a disability, to make a difference and to understand they have a part to play in this as well.
Liam: So anyone who wants to watch that video, there will be a link in the episode description of this podcast.
Joey, favourite moment of Unite for access.
Joey: There was loads, as has been said across Unite For Access this year. But I do like that we’ve got that opportunity as staff to get out there on the ground. All of us going to stadiums and meeting with fans in person. When I went to Sheffield Wednesday, there was a young fan in particular who’d come along for a familiarisation tour in the morning. Was certainly pretty shy and nervous going into the game. They’d come along from the Sheffield Parent Carer Forum and for many of the fans there, it was, their first time coming to a game. For some of them, the second. But yeah, this fan just kind of watching them grow in confidence through the day, feel more comfortable in the surroundings. And then we get midway into the game and they are absolutely loving it and loving being part of that live sporting environment, which is what we’re working towards as an opportunity week in, week out. So seeing that realised in person, it was really great to see and really encouraging. That happened early in the campaign for me and kind of justified – yeah, no, that’s what we’re doing all of this for. And then stepping away, looking across the campaign as a whole, we often look at the things going across the Premier League and the EFL and there’s fantastic things being done at clubs there. But then if we go to other levels in the National League and in the women’s game in Wales at, lower levels there, we saw some really good activity with their televised fixtures being dedicated and just some really clear messaging going out to fans on that, in the areas that we want to tick off – talking about barriers and talking about the opportunity to attend live sport again. So that was a real positive for me to see other parts of the game really get behind the campaign.
Liam: Mark?
Mark: I’m in a really unique position, because I’ve sort of seen these campaigns with Level Playing Field from all angles. I’ve done it as a fan. I’ve also had the unique position of working in the football club and leading on the project previously under its, former guise. And it’s really been interesting sort of working on it this year and looking at it from a club perspective.
What really struck me, because obviously, and I’m breaking the fourth wall a bit here, being a Welshman going to some of the Welsh clubs is quite unique, in that clubs tend to be very sort of hospitable, I guess. I think Welsh people in particular are very hospitable. I’m not saying that any other clubs aren’t, it’s just more of a unique situation, I think. And what I noticed quite regularly is that the relationship between the DSA and the clubs is quite special. They seem to be quite involved and that was quite nice for me to see that there is that link there. And it’s an important link because it just generates a conversation between the fan base and I think one of my big drivers is you can’t really be what you can’t see. So it’s nice to see sort of disabled supporters sort of front to centre to just promote that conversation.
Liam: For me, it was going to Brighton and seeing a couple of people who have come together to create a new DSA at the club. And what was funny was that they were worried about speaking because we went and spoke at halftime and they were really nervous. But the moment camera came to them they instantly went into why it’s important. And it was just very obvious that the passion and their want to make their football club the most accessible it can be overcame their nerves.
So coming up to my first real question, Owain, why is the Unite For Access campaign important and how has it positively impacted the experience of disabled sports fans attending live sporting events?
Owain: Firstly, disability represents, or disabled people represent nearly a quarter of the UK and is the largest minority group in any population – where often it gets underrepresented. And the campaign itself is so important about just demonstrating what good access inclusion is, how we can deliver it. But importantly, we saw, if we look at last year’s campaign, how we can ensure that I was there moment is afforded to all. And I think that’s a really important side that this campaign does that. It celebrates what the clubs does well. But also importantly, it just recognises in a football context that it’s not just 90 minutes going to watch football. It’s far more than that for a disabled person. It means that you can be connected to your community, it can ensure that, it can improve your physical or mental wellbeing. And it’s all through the power of sport that it unites your community, that the grounds that are in the heart of the communities are reflective of the communities. And that’s what the campaign is about. It allows us to really tackle and focus on some of the key barriers and issues that some disabled fans face by celebrating what’s done well. So we can see that cascading across different clubs, different sports, different environments and being able to share the kind of the knowledge that’s been out there and about what’s done well, but it allows everyone to come together to do it. It’s not just about the clubs celebrating what they do well, it’s about all the amazing work that disabled supporters’ associations do and about making the match day more inclusive and accessible by representing the voice of the people that they are set to serve on a local level, but the individual fans about what they can do or about their match day experience. And the point that Mark said is that you can’t be what you can’t see as well, is that people can demonstrate that this is why it’s important to me. This is what I get out of it. And I think when you can share that in a really constructive voice and with a real clear message, then we’ll see change coming from that. And it’s a platform. We’ve seen some clubs use it as a platform to launch new initiatives or some clubs have used it as an initiative to reflect on the initiatives that they have done, or to celebrate certain DSAs as well. And I think that’s what is kind of a key element, it allows us to do that. And I think if we look at this campaign in particular, we’ve seen that the attitudes of others from the annual fan survey, which we had nearly 2000 responses within that said it was the attitudes of others was one of the key barriers to watch, going to watch live sport for some disabled fans. So being able to have that key message that we can all play our part about being inclusive is just really important. And that’s why the Unite For Access campaign is vital, because it gives us the opportunity to be able to kind of have a clear message about how we can remove the barriers and how we can all play our part to do that.
Liam: Well, let’s kind of touch on the attitudes of others then, and also some attitudes of some disabled fans. They might see campaigns like Unite For Access or campaigns from our equality partners as just a self promotion. And what actually is the lasting legacy of these kind of campaigns? I mean, anyone in the group can pick this up, but what would you say to that argument?
Joey: There’s a sense with a lot of these that perhaps there’s not an awful lot of substance to it, but in this instance there are tangible activations that are being done by clubs that are really making a difference and having a legacy beyond the campaign. But even that if you just look to the awareness kind of level, we know from our survey data how important that awareness is. And if we get into the point of looking more at informing other supporters, it’s massively important that we’re doing that work. We’ve got the impact of the attitudes of others is such a significant barrier to attending live sport. So this campaign is hugely valuable in helping us address that. We get some individual activations at clubs that make a direct difference. And that’s the thing. We at the moment are all stepping back and looking at Unite For Access as a whole. And certainly there is a lot of success to be had there. But I think when you dig down at the individual level, if you talk about your story there from Brighton, Liam, and the opportunity that they’ve got to platform their DSA and all the great work that the DSA is going to be able to do off the back of that, Unite For Access is not solely responsible for it, but it can be a catalyst for so many of those occasions. And giving the opportunity for sport to come together during that period is really valuable and it gives momentum behind all of these things. But also it enthuses the individuals that are driving that at each club, that they’re not alone in the pursuits of this, and that they can all further that together.
Liam: Joey, I think the listeners would be interested to know how early in the year we actually start doing, the prep for this campaign, Unite For Access. And also can you also go into a little bit of what measures Level Playing Field has taken to encourage clubs as well as fans to actively take part?
Joey: Like most of these campaigns, if you even take it into a club setting and you think about their kind of season ticket campaigns and all that kind of stuff, these take a lot longer in the planning stage than they do at the actual point of activation. So we’ve got that fortnight when we are really concentrated. But the build up to that does stretch out so much earlier. Ultimately it’s starting around this time of year with the review of the previous year’s Unite For Access, and that springs you into the following year. For me personally, I actually joined at the end of last year’s Unite For Access campaign, which was a very busy time to join Level Playing Field. But it meant that that review stage was hugely important for me. It meant I learned so much about the campaign and was able to build, see the opportunities for us within that, see the successes that we needed to carry forward. And now we’re already starting with that this year. We’re going to have a physical meeting where we all get together and discuss that. And the information we get from being around the grounds and speaking to fans, speaking to clubs, will take so much of that going forward.
Liam: Can either of you share any stories or testimonies from fans who have benefited from the Unite for access campaigns? So like for me, when I was at Arsenal, they were reviewing the BSL that they launched last year. Whereabouts, they had a BSL interpreter on the big screen and from that they’ve had that every single match day moving forward. And I know there would have been deaf supporters who would have benefited from that. I wondered if anyone has any experiences such as that, whereby we can actually showcase that Unite For Access is actually having a real world change in supporters match days.
Joey: Just to touch on that specifically, I was actually speaking to a Deaf Arsenal supporter the other day about the legacy of their Unite For Access activity last year. So, they introduced the BSL facility and they were saying number one, it’s something that they’re noticing more in the year following in other places, particularly other sporting events. So they feel like they’re contributing to a wider legacy across sport. But when they’re speaking with other deaf fans at Arsenal, it’s great that beyond being part of that environment, when you’re out in the stadium bowl and enjoying those moments, they’d previously spoken to us about feeling excluded from the moment when Arsene Wenger left the club, and that they couldn’t be part of that experience which was so pivotal to the club that they’d been supporting such a long time. But now, even simple things like they have a pre match quiz that’s on all the stadium screens, and they can join in with all the rest of the supporters and feel truly part of that collective match day experience. So, I think funnily enough, you pick a great example of the legacy and the impact that’s had.
Owain: when you look forward about kind of the legacy, the impact, we’ve seen across the years where clubs have used it as an opportunity to launch some of their facilities and where the campaign is really, it really sharpens the minds of clubs about what they’re going to do to, to able be deliver it. It’s not just a case of players running out in t-shirts or holding flags, it’s that we can see activation, we can see and deliver and feel change where we’ve seen clubs across, I think we said last year, or the year before. So Tranmere Rovers launching, the DSA launching their sensory packs as a part for Unite For Access. And I see that the difference that that would make for the individual fans about going there, that there’s a service being provided and there’s something very tangible that has enhanced and matched the experience through a campaign through that kind of a change element there. We’ve seen changing places facilities, launched during the campaign as well, where I think in a world where we can still consider, some people, some disabled people have to get changed on toilet floors, that we’re seeing a significant improvement in someone’s human right and getting that opportunity all through the campaign and it must play its part in doing that and about raising awareness of access inclusion with disabled fans. But not only that, we’re seeing the actual change as well, in somebody’s life. And particularly in that sense, the changing places facility, an enhanced element of dignity, being kind of allowed and just an enhanced element of a human right as well.
Liam: Mark, I’m going to come to you with this one, because you are in a unique position where you have been a part of a DSA in the past and I’m interested to know from you what are the challenges that a DSA can face when they want to take part in the Unite For Access campaign. I think this year we’ve seen, more DSAs take part than we have in any other campaign and that’s really encouraging to see. But from your point of view, what challenges can some disabled supporters’ associations face when wanting to actively play a part in the campaign?
Mark: I think it’s about the relationship with the club. I think that’s really important, because as a disabled supporters’ association, you want the club to sort of come with you on that journey. So some of the challenges, maybe they’re not quite sure what the club’s plans are or the club haven’t really planned out – as Joey sort of said, we’ve done all this stuff a couple of months before and then potentially they sort of scrambling, thinking, oh, we haven’t actually put anything together for Unite For Access. Now, when I was working for a club, I think one of the important things that I would use is use the campaign as a platform because one of my biggest bugbears and I will tell to everybody that’ll listen, unfortunately, sporting venues and football clubs aren’t very good at highlighting the facilities they’ve got. The facility may be there, but it’s not promoted effectively enough. So Unite For Access is the perfect platform to do that. So a lot of my time, specifically when I was the DL with a football club, I would set united for access as a target and say, okay, I need to launch this, this and this for them because that’s when they’re going to get the most exposure. So particularly for DSAs, I think it’s kind of getting in early with the clubs and looking at what we can do together in a collaborative approach. Because I think if a club just puts a message out and a DSA puts a separate message out, sometimes it could be a bit disjointed. So the whole point of the campaign is bringing everybody together. And, from a DSA perspective, my advice would be just to make sure you’ve got a clear plan of what you want to deliver and then go from there.
Liam: I also think it’s that legacy aspect of it, is that if a club invests in their DSA during this campaign time, they will reap the rewards by having a larger voice of the disabled fan base working or being a member of the DSA they probably weren’t aware of. So therefore, as a DAO or DLO, you are gaining more feedback from a wider audience, that you may not have possibly been able to reach without the campaign. Again, when we talk about legacy of the campaign, I really do see that as one of the ways that clubs, by empowering their DSA, are, leaving a lasting legacy. We’re going to move on to the campaign video itself. And I think if we actually look at the campaign video in isolation, it’s moved the campaign forward as what we want to do every year is move the campaign Unite For Access to a wider audience.
Joey, can you give us a bit of feedback on the video this year that did focus on non visible disabilities? And do you know how many people have actually viewed the video so far?
Joey: So feedback has been very positive. Just as a general point. People have really liked the video. People have engaged with it. I think it’s been provoking. There was, a certain level of concern from us ultimately, that with the video we had decided to go more educational. It’s very long form this year, and whether we would have the right results from that. But it was something we felt was important to do. We thought as an information service that there was scope to be had there. But, yeah, it’s had a great response, from our channels alone. it’s had more than 130,000 views. But realistically, that’s not where the video has the most mileage for me, because we’ve had the individual club shares and shares from governing bodies as well, and then as Owain mentioned earlier, the impact that that has being on a stadium screen on a match day, if that comes on for halftime. And we had a specific halftime version of the video, which is four minutes long, a slightly shorter version, but that’s still taking up four minutes, of halftime on a Saturday afternoon when the focus of the stadium is on an education piece, about live sport being for disabled sports fans, and access and inclusion being the centre of attention there at the stadium. I think that’s hugely important. And the mileage that’s had there in the stadium at so many grounds, across England and Wales, has been massive. So, yeah, great results for us directly in terms of the video. but what it’s done on an individual, club-by-club basis, I think is huge. And again, I think, fans have been able to spring off that. And the focus around non visible disabilities has really given an opportunity for, some specific honing in on that area, and some positive movement there.
Liam: The campaign focused on non visible disabilities because we felt is an area where there’s a lot of education still needed. Is there any particular area or aspect of access and inclusion that Level Playing Field acknowledges needs further attention or improvement? And if so, is there scope for future campaigns to focus on particular areas of disability that probably doesn’t get the attention it needs?
Owain: I think, firstly, is that we’ve got to one recognise that we’ve done as a kind of a key element and a theme to this campaign is around, non visible disabilities, is that we’re not going to solve it all in one campaign. And I really strongly, urge clubs and whoever’s listening to this kind of podcast that we must continue with our key message and not neglect it and feel that we’ve done that. Now we’ve achieved and it’s off to the next one. This just basically means that it’s significantly online. It’s a consideration that we must kind of continue to kind of go forward. But when we look at some of the kind of the key areas now that we’re looking at, for some people, it’s still the kind of the physical infrastructure and barriers that people face about getting into the venues. I think this is an area that we need to do. Traveling to the games is a challenge and a barrier as well. We look at some of the statistics in the Level Playing Field Annual Fan Survey, which is such a key asset for us to be able to make a good campaign, make relevant change as well, and to support clubs, governing bodies, DSAs, to deliver that these areas are something that we really need to consider and how we can kind of, elevate the kind of the importance of these factors and about making the match day inclusive. So those are the two of the areas that we kind of seen within that, but as Level Playing Field. The way that we operate is about listening to fans through the insights from our fan forums, through speaking with fans on an individual basis, through our annual fan survey, that this allows us to speak with authority, this allows us to be able to deliver a key message based on facts, based on the details of kind of what’s happening, the real life match day experience of fans, so we can shape that message in a clear fashion as well. And that’s what makes – we hope the campaign is really powerful, because we’ve got the information and the data to be able to kind of back this up, and then that in turn allows people to really wholeheartedly buy into this and to make that change as well. I think those are the kind of the key areas that we kind of probably need to kind of see to focus on in upcoming campaigns. But it’s important that we can continue to do what we do in listening to fans, and listen to clubs as well about, the key issues that they might face.
Liam: And what have been the barriers, really, for sporting clubs or other stakeholders to fully embrace, the Unite For Access campaign? Because I know some of the frustrations from fans that I talk to, sometimes feel like not all clubs are getting behind this campaign like they would other equality campaigns.
Owain: And I think some of them might be a lack of confidence about doing it. Some grounds might have maybe nothing to scream and shout about their kind of facilities and infrastructure. But we know as well is, that in certain situations, well, it’s about having the people there as well can actually maximise the matchday experience, You can do it in such a variety of different ways, and you should celebrate, obviously, what you want to do well, but also as well, probably look ahead. Like, what do you want to achieve as well? It could be the case of, we know where we are right now, but actually what we’re going to do as a part of this campaign, we’re going to set our standards going forward so that we can actually see and make a difference, launch a strategy, launch an initiative, and to kind of make that difference as well. And I think from it, there may be an element that it could be reactive to a particular date. And, we ask people to kind of consider the Unite For Access campaign at a very early stage so you can actually put some plans in place and to kind of think, right, how do we want to mark this day? What can we launch and to know initiatives like last year where we saw obviously the BSL launched at Arsenal, and then obviously kind of backed up again this year where they can engage with fans as well, that we can kind of take that time to kind of do that.
Joey: I think there’s certainly a fear element from some clubs there that because they are not up to scratch, they’re going to be opening themselves to a certain amount of criticism. But I think it’s important that they are open and they accept where they are and kind of laying that stall out, but talking about ambitions and then backing it up, putting things behind it, and crucially opening up for that consultation with disabled fans, that’s some of the most valuable Unite For Access activations that we have, are, arranging those in-person meetings, which don’t have to be done during that fortnight, but we understand sometimes it’s a good trigger for that. And if that’s the start of a journey, of that positive movement and getting things done when it comes to access and inclusion at their club, then that is positive and it might not be a great achievement at that point. But if they’re heading in that direction, then that is the movement that the campaign needs. and we’re working alongside clubs throughout the year so they can put efforts of a year towards those dates, use it as kind of a check mark and keep referring back to it. And the fact that it is an annual campaign means they can keep measuring that. And crucially, from a sports side, they can be held to account on that. They can be expected, to keep improving. I do think there’s also a lot of pressure on clubs to, take part in a lot of campaigns. So, it’s where is the value? And I think there’s a lot of value in United For Access.
Liam: My final question is what message would you like to share, with the listeners, clubs who’ve taken part, the DSAs and the fans and also the non disabled supporters who may have come along for the journey for the first time?
Owain: Well, outside of just a huge thank you. I think, be safe with the knowledge that you are part of something bigger, that you’ve been involved in a campaign that doesn’t just, highlight something, it delivers meaningful change and we continue to do it. Unite For Access starts now, but delivering good access and inclusion at stadiums happens throughout the year, throughout every single matchday to continue doing that and continue making that beautiful 90 minutes that people go and watch live sport for a possibility and a reality for friends, family and the community.
Joey: Yeah, I think, a big thank you from me as well. We’re obviously grateful to the support of our partners, that have helped us facilitate, Unite For Access ultimately and have this celebration which has been so widespread, but right down to individual fans just sharing that content from ourselves and clubs and DSAs that have put out these things to inform other fans ultimately, on each individual level, that’s really valuable and helps us get the message out there, which has furthered all of this.
Mark: Yeah, for me, I think, again, it’s a huge thank you to everybody, all the clubs that sort of welcomed us throughout the campaign and the supporters who took the time to come up and have a conversation because, again, conversations are important. I’ve said it a few times before in my life, nondisabled supporters, they often vicariously live through their football teams and their clubs. I think that’s probably doubly for disabled supporters, certainly myself, that I’ve unfortunately lived vicariously through a club for my whole life. So I think it’s important that we keep doing that and keep going and attending live sport, because it’s a big part of all our lives.
Liam: And I would just say from everyone at level playing field, thank you to anyone who has had their photo taken or held up a photo board or a banner or has worn a badge. We appreciate you all.
Thank you to Mark, Joey and Owain for talking to me. That’s it for this episode. we’ll be back soon enough, but if you go into a match day, have a good one. Bye bye.