Disabled Swansea City fans now need to provide proof of disability

Swansea City fans with a disability are now being asked to provide evidence if they wish to be accompanied by a carer. However, many disabled fans, including people who rely on home adaptations such as stairlifts, are now worried that they won’t be eligible, and will be unable to attend games in future.

The Liberty Stadium has a larger number of disabled seats than many stadiums in the Premier League, previously receiving much praise for its fantastic facilities for disabled people. Now, due to the team’s recent success, the stadium is experiencing much higher demand for these tickets, which has meant that the guidelines for selling tickets for disabled tickets have had to be tightened, much to the worry of loyal fans.

Swansea City attempting to cater for those with higher levels of disability

As part of the changes, the club has written to disabled season-ticket holders, in order to request the proof of disability, which are now going to be examined in detail. The evidence of disability is thought to have been requested in benefit form, rather than submitting medical evidence. The club has argued that many people with a high level of disability have been missing out, which is why the club has had to investigate further and make a number of changes.

The club has also stated that they are still committed to providing the best possible experience for disabled supporters, despite the tightening of their disabled policy. The current policy was updated 12 months ago in consultation with a number of organisations such as Level Playing Field, who campaign to support disabled people by advising sports venues on how to improve.

500 free carer season tickets are currently available per year for the Liberty Stadium, which is considered to be a high amount as the stadium has a relatively small capacity of 21,000.

Image Credit: Chris Jobling (Flickr.com)

This content was written by Emily Bray. Please feel free to visit my Google + profile to read more stories.