North West’s Premiership clubs exhibit best and worst of accessibility

Manchester City flying high, but United in bottom half and Liverpool and Everton close to bottom, reveals new Revitalise study

New research published by the charity Revitalise, which runs the Sandpipers respite centre in Southport, has revealed that only one of the North West’s powerhouse Premiership clubs, Manchester City, is performing well for accessibility, according to a new study released today on the eve of the new season.

Revitalise’s study, released in the form of a colourful infographic, has revealed that only three of the 20 clubs in the world’s richest football league have the recommended number of spaces for wheelchair users, according to guidelines that have been in existence for over 10 years.

Only AFC Bournemouth, Swansea City and Arsenal were found to be 100% compliant with the UEFA’s recommendation for wheelchair spaces, first published in the Accessible Stadia guidelines in 2003.

Manchester City, with a compliance figure of 88%, is ranked fourth in Revitalise’s Accessibility League Table, but Manchester United and Liverpool - two of the world’s top 10 richest clubs – find themselves languishing alongside Everton in the bottom half of the table.

The Championship’s Blackburn Rovers has put the big boys to shame with an astonishing 292 wheelchair spaces – over 100 more than the guidelines recommend – giving the club an astronomical compliance figure of 159%.

Revitalise also surveyed wheelchair-using football supporters from each of the Premiership clubs and the football lovers among the charity’s own disabled guests, who painted a picture of poor match day experiences, feelings of exclusion and a lack of accessibility information from the world’s richest football league.

The survey found that, for eight out of 10 (79%) wheelchair supporters, feeling socially included was ‘very important’ when attending a match, while the availability of access info online was ‘very important’ to nine out of 10 (87%) wheelchair fans.

Disabled fans cited badly located (38%) and insufficient (34%) wheelchair spaces as major issues at matches, while the chance to be with friends (55%) and a better view of the action (57%) were the top two improvements they would like clubs to make.

Revitalise is calling for football clubs to up their game and meet their obligation to disabled supporters under the Equality Act by installing more and better facilities for disabled fans, as well as providing better quality access info online.

Revitalise Chief Executive Chris Simmonds commented: “In just 48 hours the Premiership kicks off for another season, but our study shows that for disabled people, going to the big match might not be the joyful experience they had hoped for and it’s down to the clubs to put this right.

“We’re talking about the world’s richest football league here, yet all but three have been unable to comply with simple guidelines that were laid down over 10 years ago. There can be no excuse for this.

“Bournemouth, a newcomer to the top flight, with a stadium that’s 105 years old and a turnover one fifteenth of the Premiership average, has managed to fit twice the recommended number of wheelchair spaces into its tiny stadium – and in the process has put many much bigger, richer and better resourced clubs to shame.

“And if any more perspective were needed, we also found out that the Championship is performing just as well as the Premiership when it come to accessibility but on a seventh of the turnover.

“Disabled supporters have an absolute right to expect the same enjoyable, socially inclusive experience as every other fan and football clubs have a moral and legal obligation to provide this.

“The Premiership clubs need to get on the ball. Your disabled supporters need more and better wheelchair spaces, better views, better info online and - just as important - the chance to spend time with their friends. We don’t think that’s too much to ask.”