Clubs must raise game for disabled

The Black Country club is ranked fifth in the Premier League when it comes to providing facilities for fans in wheelchairs.

By contrast, arch rivals Aston Villa are languishing at the wrong end of the league, with only Fulham and Tottenham coming out worse.

The figures, released by the Department of Work and Pensions, reveal that many of football's biggest clubs are failing to meet government targets for being friendly towards disabled supporters.

And Minister of State for Disabled People, Mike Penning, has called on the football leagues to raise their game in tackling the 'woeful lack of support' for disabled spectators at many stadiums across the country.

Only three clubs – Swansea, Southampton and Cardiff – meet government requirements for wheelchair space.

Albion comes fifth in the table, offering 89 per cent of the required space for wheelchair-bound fans.

But despite having one of the largest stadiums in the Premier League, Villa are one of the teams propping up the table, offering just 39 per cent of the wheelchair spaces the Government says they are supposed to.

However, Villa's head of communications Brian Doogan has hit back at the claims, saying the club went to great lengths to ensure its disabled fans were able to enjoy the game. "All Premier League clubs have arrangements in place to provide access and facilities for disabled fans," he said.

"The highest standards of access are available at Villa Park and we work hard to make sure that disabled fans can attend matches and enjoy their football."

Mr Doogan added the accessible stadia guide set out standards for new grounds, or existing grounds which were being rebuilt. However, he added that all clubs used those standards to assess existing provisions and for guidance on how to make improvements.

"We have provisions in place for disabled supporters all around Villa Park and, specifically for wheelchair users and their personal assistants, we provide wheelchair bays with personal assistant seating."

The research was carried out by the Level Playing Field Charity. It is believed the situation is even worse for the lower leagues in England, Wales and Scotland.

Mr Penning has asked for urgent talks with Football Association chairman Greg Dyke to stamp out discrimination in all football leagues across Britain.

"I'm blowing the whistle on discrimination against disabled people by football club bosses," said Mr Penning.

"Football is part of Britain's heritage – it runs through our blood.

"The fact clubs across our land are putting up barriers preventing a fifth of our population from enjoying the sport is a complete disgrace.

"The situation is currently woefully inadequate and it is not only wheelchair access that falls short, but access for people with all kinds of impairments.

"Changes must be made now so we show the red card to illegal and unequal treatment of disabled people – to make sure everyone can enjoy the beautiful game."

Guidelines on how football clubs in the UK should cater for disabled spectators have been in place since 2004.

The Accessible Stadia Guide sets out minimum standards that all new grounds have to meet in the provision, location, and quality of facilities for disabled fans.

The number of wheelchair spaces a stadium should provide is based on its capacity.

Albion's head of facility operations and development Mark Miles said the club set out to make matchdays as enjoyable as possible for all supporters.

"We have an excellent relationship with the disabled branch of the official supporters' club and host an annual open day for its members, when they are invited to the stadium to watch training and are treated to full hospitality before meeting the coaching staff and players," he said.

"The Hawthorns is the highest-ranked stadium in the table that has not been relocated and purpose-built.

"We have flexible seating arrangements in parts of the stadium which would enable us to accommodate more disabled supporters should the need arise."

Wheelchair spaces as a percentage of those required

1 – Swansea – 121%

2 – Southampton – 104%

3 – Cardiff – 102%

4 – Arsenal – 96%

5 – West Bromwich Albion – 89%

6 – Hull – 89%

7 – Manchester City – 88%

8 – Newcastle – 73%

9 – Sunderland – 70%

10 – Stoke – 68%

11 – West Ham – 60%

12 – Everton – 56%

13 – Norwich – 49%

14 – Chelsea – 47%

15 – Liverpool – 45%

16 – Manchester United – 43%

17 – Crystal Palace – 40%

18 – Aston Villa – 39%

19 – Tottenham – 28%

20 – Fulham – 24%