The Tigers Family came together to ‘Celebrate Inclusion’ raising awareness and promoting the needs of supporters with physical and hidden disabilities at matchday on Saturday.
More than 18,000 supporters watched Tigers beat Worcester Warriors in the Gallagher Premiership on a day whern the club, supporters and other organisations helped to launch a new commitment to ensuring Welford Road continues to be accessible to all.
The day marked the culmination of 12 months of planning behind the scenes, working closely with supporters and organisations from across the community to help identify improvements to provision and facilities for disabled fans.
In a club-wide commitment, staff have been working on measures aimed at helping those with a disability to come forward, and provide the support and information to fans as well as making all supporters aware of the needs of others.
Celebrate Inclusion Day saw Tigers:
- Launch its Sunflower Lanyard Scheme
- Promote awareness of physical and hidden disabilities in stadiums on matchdays
- Identify the club’s fully-trained Inclusive and Accessibility Stewards and staff
Supporters are able to request Sunflower Lanyards, part of a national campaign which allows individuals to identify themselves to staff if they need assistance.
The club also introduced Rob Gahan and Karen Brogden as Inclusive and Accessibility Stewards for matchdays.
A number of organisations got involved to highlight their work, including:
- Level Playing Field
- British Sign Language
- Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
- Royal National Institute of Blind People
- Colour Blind Awareness
- National Autistic Society
- Attenborough Arts Centre
- Sunflower Lanyard Scheme
- The Matt Hampson Foundation
- Leicester Tigers Wheelchair Rugby
The club store also welcomed supporters who prefer to shop in a quieter, less crowded setting to a dedicated hour on Sundaty morning as part of the initiative.
As a club, Tigers appreciate that every fan has different needs and supporters who require assistance in accessing Welford Road are encouraged to get in touch before matchdays to allow staff to help with any specific enquires.
For more information, or to highlight any specific requirements, please email [email protected] or phone the Tigers ticket office on 0116 319 8888 (option 2).
