Disabled supporters top priority for Ipswich Town Football Club

Whether it’s access to appropriate seating, refreshments, car parking or sensory kits ITFC is looking at ways to support disabled supporters both on match days and through the work of the ITFC foundation. They are aiming high to match the Premier League status that is now back at Portman Road.

Fan Engagement Plan

With increased awareness of disability, the Club and Foundation is committed to supporting fans with disabilities and regularly develop and implement initiatives to make Portman Road more accessible. The Club enjoys working with Level Playing Field; a registered charity in England and Wales that acts as a campaigning and advisory organisation for clubs across all sports.

Within its nine accessible areas, the Club supports engagement from its disabled fans in multiple formats.

Soccer Sight

Soccer Sight allows visually impaired supporters to listen to full-match commentary for all league and cup fixtures from within the stadium, to help improve the matchday experience. The Club provides 12 Audio Descriptive Commentary sets to both home and away supporters on a matchday, with all used regularly on both a seasonal and match-to-match basis.

Subtitling

The Club has also introduced the option of subtitles on TownTV. The Club is also looking to develop other areas on TownTV. Live subtitles are also now visible on the stadium's big screen.

At Seat Service

At Seat Service is an amenity available to around 300 disabled supporters and personal assistants, providing support with the purchase of refreshments by disabled fans in-game.

Upon receiving feedback that many disabled fans find concourses too busy and difficult to navigate pre-match and at half-time, the service has been implemented in all accessible areas at Portman Road, with a simple online order-to-delivery process involved.

Car Park Assistance

The Disability Liaison Officer’s matchday assistants offer support to accessible areas from nearby car parks surrounding the stadium. This is a vital service to supporters who attend Portman Road independently, with the matchday assistants also able to support with returning equipment provided by the Club during the game and are also on-hand to assist following matches too.

Ipswich Town Foundation

The Ipswich Town Foundation run various programmes and initiatives, including adult and youth disability football alongside frame and Powerchair football. There is also a regular meeting for those with Dementia with the Golden Days Cafe being held once each month and a senior blues session that involves some light physical activity.

Sensory Packs

Sensory Packs are designed to enhance the experience of fans, particularly autistic supporters. Each pack is presented in an official Ipswich Town Foundation drawstring bag and contains a disability awareness lanyard, as well as noise-cancelling headphones, a Foundation-branded fidget spinner and a Foundation-branded soft stress ball. Around 100 packs are available throughout the season, with 60 season ticket holders utilising these. The rest are made available to supporters on a match-by-match basis.

Accessible Stadium Tours

With the newly launched tour of Portman Road being extremely popular, it was recognised as crucial to the Club to be able to provide an insightful look into the stadium for those who may require further support. Therefore, a tour that allows a reduced capacity group and personal assistants to attend has been implemented, with packs provided to support those with sensory needs.

Subtitled video clips are made available, alongside a British Sign Language specialist being present to interpret the guides’ explanations, as well as to allow questions to be asked by those who are hearing impaired. A consideration is also made by the tour guides to explain the visual elements of each room in further detail to those visually impaired, with extra staff on-hand to assist the group throughout the tour.

Fan Advisory Board

The club is currently recruiting several fans to be a part of the Fan Advisory Board. This is a requirement of the Premier League. One representative will be chosen by Disability Liaison Officer Lee Smith to represent the disabled fans. They will be able to feedback personal experiences and viewpoints of other fans at the highest level of the club.

This is further evidence of the importance placed on ensuring everyone is included and made to feel welcome at Portman Road and community sessions.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Lee Smith - Disability Liaison Officer

Tel: 01473 400556

Email: disability@itfc.co.uk or lee.smith@itfc.co.uk

Gavin Preston – Ticket Office Manager

Tel: 01473 400672

Email: gavin.preston@itfc.co.uk

Neil McCluskey - ITFC Safety Officer

Tel: 01473 400541

Email: neil.mccluskey@itfc.co.uk

Leanne Smith