Welcome to CAFE!

We are the Centre for Access to Football in Europe.
'Total Football - Total Access'

CAFE is supported by the UEFA and is working closely with its 53 associations to improve access in European football stadia.

CAFE holds Audio Descriptive Commentary training seminars

Over recent weeks, the CAFE team have been to both Warsaw and Kiev to host training seminars for Audio Descriptive Commentary.

As part of the UEFA EURO 2012 Respect Inclusion project, with additional support from the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport, Council of Europe, CAFE are training volunteers in Poland and Ukraine to provide Audio Descriptive Commentary - a unique service for blind and partially sighted supporters which requires the commentator to explain everything that happens inside the stadium and on the pitch in as much detail as possible.

Over fifty volunteers took their first training sessions and have since continued the programme at home with training from CAFE’s appointed trainers who provided a similar service during UEFA EURO 2008’ . Their training will progress right up until the start of UEFA EURO 2012, when two commentators from each of the eight host cities will provide the service during every match of the tournament.

CAFE Managing Director Joyce Cook said, “The training seminars were an overwhelming success, and we have been lucky enough to discover a large pool of volunteers with a real passion for Audio Descriptive Commentary. Many of the volunteers had no previous experience of commentating, and it was very exciting for us to see how well they took to it. It is now crucial that the volunteers continue to develop their skills ahead of UEFA EURO 2012”.

Larysa Sayevich, Project Coordinator in Donetsk with CAFE’s Ukrainian local implementing partner the National Assembly of Disabled People and a blind football supporter herself, said, “Before, listening to commentary was like a black and white movie. By the end of the training seminar, I saw a rainbow”

For more information about the seminars, please visit http://www.cafefootball.eu/2012/04/12/news/Warsaw-and-Kiev-seminars-highly-successful.aspx.

STOP THE PRESS: UEFA RESPECT shirt swap campaign launched today - check out www.exchangeyourjersey.com.

UEFA EURO 2012 Respect Inclusion project Ambassadors announced

CAFE are delighted to announce that the official Ambassadors of the UEFA EURO 2012 Respect Inclusion project have been named.

In Poland, CAFE have been able to secure the services of our long-time friend Dariusz Dziekanowski. Dariusz had a fantastic playing career, and later founded the Polish Association of Former Players. Dariusz shares our vision of 'Total Football, Total Access', and it is a pleasure to have him on board.

In Ukraine, we have been lucky enough to agree terms with three Ambassadors. Oleksiy Mykhailychenko is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of the last thirty years. During his career, Oleksiy enjoyed success at huge teams such as Dynamo Kiev, Sampdoria and Rangers, and in 1988 came 4th in the World Player of the Year Awards.

Current Ukrainian international goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy has also agreed to be an Ambassador for the project. Oleksandr is Ukraine's third highest-capped player, and has made the second most appearances in Dynamo Kiev's history. He is considered to be Ukraine's finest ever goalkeeper and achieved worldwide fame in 2006 when, during a FIFA World Cup Second Round match against Switzerland, kept the first ever clean sheet in a FIFA World Cup penalty shootout.

Volodomyr Nechyporuk is a gifted journalist, manager and organiser, and a respected and well known public figure within Ukraine. He has been the General Producer of the Ukrainian Fashion Week since 2007 - an event which supported the social campaign 'Tolerant Society - Live Equally' in 2011 alongside project local implementing partners the National Assembly of Disabled People.

CAFE would like to thank the Ambassadors for accepting their roles, and wish them the very best. For more information on the Ambassadors, please visit http://euro2012.cafefootball.eu/2012/03/15/news/Respect-Inclusion-Project-Ambassadors-promote-equal-access.aspx

By Disabled People, For Disabled People

As part of the UEFA EURO 2012 Respect Inclusion project, CAFE are working with our local implementing partners to monitor the access to public places in each tournament host city.

Volunteers have been visiting a large amount of businesses, shops, hotels, restaurants, and public areas to see how easily a disabled person could access them.

In Ukraine, the UEFA EURO 2012 Respect Inclusion branded clothing worn by the volunteers was produced by Socium Plus, a manufacturing company who actively employ disabled people.

Nataliia Skrypka, Executive Director of the National Assembly of Disabled People in Ukraine, said, "This is a really inclusive approach which is promoted by the UEFA EURO 2012 Respect Inclusion project".

For more information on this, please visit http://euro2012.cafefootball.eu/2012/03/20/news/By-Disabled-People-For-Disabled-People.aspx.

CAFE supporter victim of a horrific crime

The CAFE team were shocked to hear recently of a terrible incident involving one of our good friends, Michal Fitas.

Michal is a huge football fan and does a fantastic job with KKN, the disabled supporters association of Slask Wroclaw. Michal recently had his powered wheelchair stolen, causing major distress and concern.

Michal's wheelchair is highly sophisticated in order to meet his requirements, and he simply does not have the funds to purchase another wheelchair himself. The wheelchair was initially secured through funding, which would be unavailable for up to another five years.

There is a happy ending to this story however as police were able to track down the wheelchair, which luckily was still in full working order.

Ambulifts on their way to Ukrainian Airports

Ahead of UEFA EURO 2012, airports in the four host cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev and Lviv have placed orders for new ambulifts.

Ambulifts are used to meet a disabled passenger at the airplane and slowly lower them to ground level. Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv will be receiving their first ambulifts, whilst Kiev, as the busiest airport with the most international connections, will be getting another ambulift to be used alongside their existing one.

CAFE Managing Director Joyce Cook has already tried the ambulift at Kiev airport, and is a big fan!

For more information on this story, please visit http://euro2012.cafefootball.eu/2012/04/10/news/Ukrainian-host-cities-to-provide-ambulifts-at-airports.aspx.

CAFE Advisory Group welcomes new members

CAFE are delighted to announce that three new members have been added to our expert Advisory Group.

Ulrich Hofmann, Volker Sieger and Malik Badsi have all agreed to offer their knowledge and expertise to CAFE on an ongoing basis and have demonstrated this commitment by joining the Advisory Group.

All three of the new members attended our first European conference at Wembley Stadium, London in September 2011, and we are very happy to be able to call on their support going forward. To read biographies for the three newest members, and to find out more about the rest of the Advisory Group, please visit http://www.cafefootball.eu/Advisory-Group%20.aspx.

KBVB-URBSFA offer support to Belgium national DSA

Recently, CAFE's Western European Development Officer Keith Ferguson visited Belgium, on a trip which coincided with the national DSA announcing their new name.

INSIDE (Accessible Football Belgium) will represent disabled supporters across the country, and Keith met with Vice President Geert Thomas to discuss a number of important issues.

Keith and Geert also met with Steven Martens, the General Secretary of Belgium's Football Association, KBVB-URBSFA. Steven offered his full support to INSIDE, and praised the work that they had already done for disabled supporters in Belgium.

To read more, please visit http://www.cafefootball.eu/2012/04/12/blog/KBVB-URBSFA-support-for-INSIDE.aspx

5th Annual World Autism Awareness Day

The 2nd of April marked the fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day.

As part of the ‘Light It Up Blue’ campaign ran by Autism Speaks to promote the event, thousands of buildings across six continents were bathed in blue light to show their support for this very worthy cause.

To find out more about Autism Speaks and the Light It Up Blue campaign, please visit http://www.autismspeaks.org/.
 

French questionnaire on access to sporting venues

Le Pôle Ressources National Sport et Handicaps are looking for people to answer a quick questionnaire on access for disabled supporters at sporting events.

The deadline is the 15th of May 2012, and they are hoping that the results will identify common issues that cause a negative experience for disabled spectators.

To participate, please visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGthcXE0RFVpYzdZS3EzTEFrRmFLZkE6MQ.

CLUB CAFE Network continues to grow

At our September 2011 conference we launched the CLUB CAFE network. CLUB CAFE exists to bring like-minded people together to work towards our goal of Total Football, Total Access.

Since the conference, the network has expanded considerably. People from all across Europe have added their voice to our cause. The more people speak up, the more our voices are heard.

For more information on CLUB CAFE and to download a copy of the form, please visit http://www.cafefootball.eu/2011/10/03/blog/Introducing-CLUB-CAFE.aspx

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