PZPN

The Club Without Barriers programme is another project developed and implemented together with the Disabled Supporters' Association. It is aimed at professional-level football clubs. It aims to identify good practice and raise awareness of the availability of infrastructure and services at football matches.

Our stadiums and clubs are accessible to all, so we encourage people with disabilities to attend matches and experience the excitement of football together in the stands, said Cezary Kulesza, president of the Polish Football Association.

The main aim of the programme is to raise awareness and promote the accessibility of the clubs' offer for disabled supporters, as well as to reward clubs that are sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities, emphasises Michal Fitas, President of the Disabled Supporters' Association.

The programme's committee will assess and verify the fulfilment of its criteria on the basis of, among other things, applications, delegates' opinions and the experience of representatives of the Disabled Supporters' Association, adds Dariusz Łapiński, PZPN Coordinator for Cooperation with Supporters.

Participants in the Club Without Barriers programme can be any football club participating in professional league competition, i.e. the men's PKO BP Ekstraklasa, Fortuna 1 Liga or 2 Liga and the women's Orlen Ekstraliga Kobiet, Orlen 1 Liga Kobiet and 2 Liga. Participation in the programme is voluntary and an application must be submitted to participate. The Club Without Barriers certificate will be awarded for one year.

Thanks to such measures, we hope to increase the participation of fans with disabilities in mass events, including football matches in particular.

In recent years, the Polish Football Association, together with the Disabled Supporters' Association, has launched several other valuable programmes for the disabled community. These included the "Easy Access" sector, an audiodescription service at Polish national team matches, the "Stadiony bez barier" (Stadiums without barriers) campaign, the "Dla nas nie ma barier" (There are no barriers for us) sector at PGE Narodowy, Polish Sign Language translations of Polish Football Association press conferences and regularly organised workshops for club assistants for people with disabilities.

The Club Without Barriers programme is a new initiative that is primarily designed to support stadium infrastructure and the development of cooperation between clubs and disabled fans' organisations across Poland. I firmly believe that certification of clubs and organisations will be a particularly valuable form of reward for the accessibility to events and facilities. Our stadiums are becoming more and more accessible and regularly fill up with fans with disabilities. However, a wide range of services dedicated to people with special needs is also important. The combination of these two important elements is expected to bring satisfaction and enjoyment to the most important beneficiaries of the programme, namely fans with various disabilities. This will enable them to enjoy football without barriers, accessible to all, concludes Paweł Parus, member of the Management Board of the Disabled Supporters' Association.

Member of the committee on behalf of the Disabled Supporters' Association will be Wojciech Grabowski.