Coventry City are proud to be supporting Level Playing Field’s ‘Weeks of Action’ campaign.
Disability charity Level Playing Field are celebrating their 18th ‘Weeks of Action’ campaign from Saturday 26 February to Sunday 13 March, which aims to showcase the good work being done by clubs and organisations to improve accessibility and inclusion across all sports.
This year’s theme celebrates the return of fans after stadiums reopened after the suspension of live sport.
As part of our support the campaign, Coventry City are helping our disabled supporters learn about Level Playing Field and understand what they do, what their aims are to improve accessibility and inclusion, and how they can assist disabled fans.
In recent years, the Sky Blues have enabled our disabled supporters to buy their tickets online, while Sky Blues in the Community continue to provide opportunities for disabled people in Coventry and Warwickshire through their inclusion projects and programmes.
The Club appointed Jodie Jones as the Sky Blues' new Supporter Services and Disability Liasion Officer in January, and already work is underway to improve the matchday experience for disabled supporters.
Coventry City Chief Executive Dave Boddy said:
"We are delighted to show our support for the Level Playing Field campaign.
"We know how important accessibility and inclusion is for our disabled supporters, and we are working to make improvements for these fans.
"Appointing Jodie as our new dedicated Supporter Services and Disability Liasion Officer is a key improvement, and shows our commitment to improving the experience for disabled fans."
Who are ‘Level Playing Field’?
Level Playing Field are a sports charity that act as a campaigning and advisory organisation for disabled sports fans.
The charity supports disabled sports fans through the following channels:
Membership programme
As a user led organisation, Level Playing Field’s members are always at the heart of what they do. Their shared passion for sport and equality really drives them to influence long term change and improve the spectator experience for all disabled fans.
The Level Playing Field ‘fan’ membership is free to join, and includes the following benefits:
- Weekly ‘match day’ newsletter with general LPF updates.
- Quarterly ‘fan’ specific exclusive newsletter.
- Invites to take part in annual events such as Weeks of Action and regional/national forums.
- Official membership Certificate.
- It’s free to become a member.
Other benefits include:
- Access to independent, expert advice and guidance on access and inclusion issues.
- Opportunity to feedback on Access and Inclusion through LPF’s annual survey.
- Opportunity to network with other disabled fans, fan groups and disability/sports organisations.
To become a Level Playing Field member, click here or contact ben@levelplayingfield.org.uk.
Active Level Playing Field initiatives
Level Playing Field run a range of initiatives for disabled sports fans, working to improve the matchday experience.
Active Level Playing Field initiatives:
- The Level Playing Field podcast – A monthly podcast series with guests from across the sporting community.
- Have Your Say – We ask disabled fans for their feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, from their experience at live sports events
- Talking Sport – During the pandemic we launched the Talking Sport initiative, where fans could chat to a member of the team in a bid to battle loneliness. After great success we’ve continued the initiative and continue to welcome fans to get in touch!
To find out more about the above, contact liam@levelplayingfield.org.uk
Level Playing Field’s work
Level Playing Field work behind the scenes with clubs to help improve accessibility at sports venues to ensure disabled supporters can experience the best possible match day. Common areas of improvement are sensory rooms, accessible toilets, audio commentary, and accessible club shops and food concession stands that include drop-down counters.
Areas of improvement can be highlight by clubs through Level Playing Field services such as:
- Access Audits by NRAC (National Register of Access Consultants)
- Club staff training
- Expert advice and guidance
If you would like to keep updated with Level Playing Field’s work, follow them on social media.
Thank you for taking the time to read a bit about Level Playing Field!