Aston Villa is proud to support Level Playing Field’s ‘Weeks of Action’ campaign.
Level Playing Field are a sports charity who act as a campaigning and advisory organisation for disabled sports fans. The Weeks of Action campaign aims to celebrate the positive initiatives undertaken by clubs, sporting venues and their governing bodies in partnership with disabled sports fans and Disabled Supporters’ Associations.
This season’s campaign, the 18th annual event, takes place from, Saturday, February 26 to Sunday, March 13 and will be a period of celebration and inspiration, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s theme will celebrate the return of supporters, as fans finally return to live sport after a tough season-and-a-half behind closed doors.
To celebrate this campaign, we have invited supporters who take part in our weekly Dementia Café to join us in the sensory rooms for the match against Southampton on Saturday, March 5 2022. The key objective is to raise awareness of good accessibility and inclusion and how it benefits disabled fans and the wider community, driving a greater matchday experience and encouraging more disabled fans to watch.
Sensory rooms are an incredibly important asset for a wide range of football fans, including those who are autistic, have sensory processing disabilities or even dementia. Saturday’s Premier League match against Southampton (ko 3pm) will be Villa’s dedicated fixture, with players wearing Level Playing Field t-shirts during the warm-up and club media across all channels showing its support for the campaign.
The Aston Villa Foundation engages disabled fans through our Ability Counts football, allowing those of all ages and abilities to take part in matches and train with their peers and a team of dedicated coaches, with players competing in the Birmingham Ability Counts League against a host of local teams. The Club is pleased to have made several improvements to accessibility during the 2021-22 season including building a new changing places toilet and increasing the amount of wheelchair bays we offer supporters, whilst also now providing wheelchair bays in the away section for visiting supporters.
Want to become a Level Playing Field club member?
Their free membership includes exclusive newsletters, access to expert advice and guidance plus lots more. For more details click here.
Aston Villa Disability Supporters Association continue to increase membership and have recently launched an updated Logo, Enamel Badge and Website. If you would like to get involved or find out a bit more please visit - (www.avdsa.co.uk)
For more information on All In, the Club’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion platform, please click here.
Please contact accessibility@avfc.co.uk for any information on matchday disability and accessibility.