How to make a football ground disabled-friendly

It was something I had never thought about before. I wasn't disabled and nor was anyone I knew within football. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, of course, disabilities were not always recognised as... disabilities. People with disabilities either had to make do with the few (none!) facilities that a football ground had to offer or, they just couldn't go to watch their local team and support the club.

Surprisingly enough, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA, for short) didn't become law in the UK until 8 November 1995. It was after that date that football clubs had to get their arses into gear and start providing adequate facilities for their disabled supporters. And that applied all the way through the football pyramid. The DDA is now known as the Equality Act 2010.

Due to the lack of appropriate space, Oxford Road would never have been able to be converted for people in wheelchairs to attend matches there, so it's just as well that the Wands had arranged to play all their home games at the neutral Hayes Lane ground in Bromley by 1998, where if nothing else the facilities for disabled supporters were just starting to be introduced.

In truth, I have only become interested in the disability facilities issue since my wife became a wheelchair-using disabled person, after she contracted a neurological illness 'out of the blue' at the turn of the century (1999-2000 time). Visiting shopping centres became very much a challenge, as too did trying to get on and off buses. Even though she didn't start having to use a wheelchair until around 2010, and more permanently around 2015, there were lots of places that the pair of us found inaccessible for wheelchair — and, I must add, Delta frame — users. It's amazing how many shops still have steps at their entrance doors that I never even noticed before my wife's illness.

What's a Delta frame? It's like a Reliant Robin, it has three wheels and it is pushed along by the person using it, who usually has problems walking unaided. A sort of a zimmer frame on wheels. There are four-wheel versions of the same thing which are much safer but, God bless 'em, Social Services decided to provide wifey with a three-wheeler and, like the Reliants, her Delta frame was easy to tip over if the front wheel hit a stone, uneven tarmac and most definitely a pothole. Not the best situation for a disabled person who was frail with illness and the ability to walk deteriorating fast to cope with.

So, what facilities do I believe football clubs should provide for their disabled supporters? Well, for starters, the car park should have at least a minimum of ten parking spaces dedicated to blue badge holders. These spaces must be as near to the entrance to the ground (turnstiles/special entrance, not the main gate into the complex) as practicably possible. Then there's the entrance; anyone with half a brain cell will quickly realise that a wheelchair and a turnstile are not an even match. A special side gate or purpose-made entrance is a must and needs to be manned full time before, during and after a game, as there is no telling if and when a disabled person may have to leave the ground in a hurry.

Another must-have are disabled (or disability) toilets, preferably at both ends of the ground and also somewhere in between, for the sole use of provable disabled persons (as in, not able-bodied people). The door should be kept locked by a Radar system; most disabled persons should own a Radar key so that only they can access a disabled-only toilet. A problem that some disabled folk have is their constant need to go to the loo and, if there are no appropriate facilities available, their needs — requirements — have not been provided for and the club is 100% at fault. And it is no use a football club siting just one disabled toilet near the bar area if that bar area happens to be up a flight of stairs and there is no lift available. Just try pushing a wheelchair with somebody sitting in it up or down one or more flights of stairs and you'll soon get the idea.

There must also be a dedicated area near to or within the main stand for wheelchair users to park up and watch the game unhindered. By that, I mean, nobody should be permitted to stand directly in front of such an area so that the disabled person's view of the game is obscured. Able-bodied supporters may not think it is a big concern but, try turning the tables and imagine if somebody stood in front of your seat for the entire duration of the game. If you don't like it done to you then please don't commit the same annoyance to a disabled person. They are entitled to a bit of enjoyment as well.

And ramps! Every football club must install ramps wherever wheelchair users need to access areas within the football ground. One, two, three or more steps in front of a specially equipped toilet or main stand entry point is of as much use as a chocolate fireguard with regard to accessibility for wheelchair users.

In addition, some clubs may take the initiative and introduce other facilities not already mentioned here. No, I am not stirring anything with a wooden spoon, I'm just pointing out what a football club's legal obligations are to ensure that disabled supporters enjoy a comfortable and welcoming experience at stadia — wherever that may be.