In the 12th episode of the Balance S4 Mini-series on safety and service at sports events, we speak with an advocate for the inclusion of fans with disabilities in sports events – Dmytro Zharyi, human rights lawyer and trustee of AccessibAll. Dmytro stresses that working with fans with disabilities is crucial to promoting accessibility and highlights that it is an honour to co-operate with the European Union and the Council of Europe joint project Balance S4 - Strengthening the Safety and Service pillars of the Saint-Denis Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events.
Dmytro underlines the important initiatives carried out through AccessibAll in 2025: assisting football clubs and federations with the implementation of the European Accessibility Act, conducting the largest disabled fans survey, developing European guidelines with the Council of Europe to promote safety and inclusivity at sports events, and joining special monitoring missions of the UEFA WEURO 2025 competition in Geneva and Zurich.
Four main considerations are central to Dmytro’s vision of making sporting events more accessible. He provides the example of AccessibAll’s Special Access Academy to emphasise the importance of initiatives that provide education to people working in sport on accessibility, safety, and service for persons with disabilities. He references another AccessibAll initiative, Access Captains, that unites leaders around Europe to bridge the gap between football clubs and fans with disabilities, believing this to be central to improving accessibility. He emphasises the importance of demonstrating the best practices of accessibility, safety, and security of organisations in Europe to inspire others, citing AccessibAll’s Access Champions Certification project. The provision of effective services is also essential to promoting accessibility, analysing best practices in international sports competitions to implement them in other sports events.
Ultimately, all these efforts converge to the goal of promoting accessibility and inclusivity of fans with disabilities in and outside of sports venues where, as Dmytro highlights, the importance of continued monitoring, education, and the creation of regulations is crucial. This is one the main missions of the Balance S4 joint project.
AccessibAll promotes safety and security at sports events for fans with visible and non-visible disabilities. They partner with football clubs, football federations, and other sports organisations to promote accessibility for fans with disabilities.
Watch the full interview here
More information:
Awareness-Raising Workshop on Safety at Sports Events
Discover the Saint-Denis Convention through an online course
