3/1 To Win
The national sports disability charity Level Playing Field recently launched ‘Unite For Access’ 2025, their annual campaign that promotes access and inclusion for fans with a disability.
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From 1st to 16th March, sporting communities across England and Wales, including EFL Clubs, will recognise and celebrate their supporters who live with a disability.
Across the campaign, Clubs up and down the country will be hosting dedicated matchdays, as well as delivering sessions to educate the local community on the topic.
Derby County’s dedicated ‘Unite For Access’ matchday is Tuesday evening’s Sky Bet Championship fixture against Coventry City and the campaign will have a presence throughout the night.
As part of the Unite for Access campaign, the club are highlighting its Buggy Transportation Service with a dedicated video, showcasing how it helps fans navigate the stadium.
A Supporter Group meet-up has also been arranged, bringing together Derby and Coventry’s Disabled Supporters Associations (DSA’s) and Disability Access Officers (DAO’s) to discuss accessibility. Representatives from Level Playing Field will also be in attendance to join the discussions.
Additionally, the club will be releasing a special video in collaboration with the Royal School for the Deaf Derby, featuring Derby County players learning sign language to a chant used by Rams supporters.
Commenting on the return of the ‘Unite for Access’ initiative, David McArdle, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the EFL said: “We are delighted to see so many EFL Clubs coming together to support Level Playing Field’s Unite For Access campaign this year.
“Football is a game for everyone and raising awareness about different disabilities is important in order to ensure our game remains a welcoming environment for everyone.”
As part of the campaign, Level Playing Field have released a short film exploring the collective matchday experience of fans with a disability and the need to tackle discrimination in this area, which their recent annual fan survey showed was on the rise.
Roy Hodgson, the charity’s Patron, said: “Unite For Access presents us with an outstanding opportunity to bring people together. The message of this year’s film really gives us all something to unite behind. Everyone has a role to play, in creating an inclusive environment for disabled fans.
“We are grateful to all of the fans, disabled supporters’ associations, clubs and our partners that are involved in this year’s campaign and particularly thank the Premier League and EFL for their support.”
Level Playing Field is the leading disability fan advocacy charity in England and Wales, and Derby County is once again proud to take part in the 'Unite For Access' campaign.
To find out more about the work of Level Playing Field, please visit levelplayingfield.org.uk.
