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Polish Disabled Supporters Club Silesia Wroclaw

News - 17 June 2010

 Report of a two-year activity

Disabled Supporters Club

Klubu Kibiców Niepełnosprawnych (KKN)

In October, it will be two years since the Disabled Supporters Club Silesia Wroclaw has been formed. Upcoming new season is another challenge for us. But before our minds give birth to new ideas, it is worth to summarize and analyze the functioning of KKN for these two seasons.

When in a summer 2008 Slask Wroclaw returned to the Ekstraklasa after many years of interruption, you could count on one hand the number disabled people who regularly attended matches on the stadium on the street Oporowski. First of all, because there was no offers for these people from the club. Lack of accessible seats, outstanding issue of entry into the stadium and, finally, fear for safety - those are only some of the barriers encountered by disabled fans two years ago. At that time there was a groundbreaking meeting of one of the fans - a wheelchair user Paweł Parus and one of Wroclaw club employees. Both parties quickly reached an agreement, resulting in the official signing an agreement for the creation of a Disabled Supporters Club. All this took place in conjunction with a press conference, so that the information of the creation of KKN could be spread in the world - fan club was founded, a club that our country (Poland) has never seen before. Since then, Slask Wroclaw became a club without barriers, and disabled supporters felt that they were finally included. Then the time for concrete actions and innovative initiatives has started.

From the outset, the overarching objective of KKN is the activation of disabled people through participation in sporting events - especially those that are associated with Silesia Wroclaw Club. And this is the key task from the beginning of our activity. Our first initiative was a request to the club that all disabled people and their companions can watch matches on Oporowski Stadium for free. We thought that finances are one of the barriers that stop regular participation of disabled people in the matches. The fact that we were right showed during the previous season, when the pool of 30 tickets proved to be insufficient. Currently Silesia in Wroclaw matches wants to see around of 50 fans with various degrees of disability, half of which are the wheelchair users. We estimate that the new stadium might easily be filled with around 100 disabled supporters.

This impressive attendance of disabled supporters proving to positively improve the image of Silesia, Wroclaw Club. The presence of such a large group of disabled people after all have a considerable impact on changing the stereotype of football fans. It gives a room to think for all those who believe that the stadium is still not safe. Since each match is attended by the large group of disabled people it is also safe for women and children to attend a match. To this way of thinking is also encourages by the Great Society of Silesia, which cooperates with the KKN.

For a disabled fans to be able to attend the match there is a need for accessible facilities and services. We also tried to create an accessible sector of the stadium on the street Oporowski. To do so, we  have arranged a meeting with representatives of the city, however this project was never realized. A little bit of a "guilty" can be blamed on a new stadium in Maślice being build for EURO 2012, which soon will take over the role from the old stadium of Silesia. Fortunately, at that time the clubhouse started to be refurbished, therefore we have managed to adapt its terrace to act as the accessible sector for disabled people. In a year time this problem will be definitively resolved anyway as on the new stadium will be accessible for more than 100 places for disabled fans.

KKN’s other idea, which - as it turned out, has aroused great interest, was to organize trips for away matches of Silesia Wroclaw Club. The first such escapade took place in May 2009. Nearly 30 people went to Krakow for the season ending match against Wisla Krakow. At that time we established a contact with the Lower Silesian Institute Advisory, who had considerable experience in implementing projects aimed at disabled people. As a consequence we have signed a cooperation agreement, thanks to which it was easier to apply for funding of such trips. We have submitted an offer to the board of the Municipal Office asking for a grant for the project "Breaking the Barriers is wrocław way”. We were able to obtain sufficient funds to finance out trips, so in autumn 2009 we have visited following stadia, Wronki and Chorzów and we could participate in the Nothern Ireland – Poland match at Silesian. We also wanted to go to Sosnowiec for a match against Cracovia, Krakow, however the officials of a club did not give their consent for our visit. All trips were funded by PFRON, so the participants did not incur any costs. Therefore no wonder that every time we lacked of places for everyone. The spring of 2010 due to the lack of offers we were unable to obtain similar funding, yet members of the KKN-u also went to matches outside of Wroclaw (obviously in a significantly smaller number). However it can be summarized that the project "Breaking the Barriers is wrocław way” was a success and we intend to continue it. Currently we are looking for sources of funding for our initiatives for the season 2010/2011. All interested please contact us.

KKN’s very important task proved to be assistance in the planning of accessible seating for disabled people in the new stadium in the Maślice. In December 2008 the President of KKN - Pawel Parus, was invited by the architects of the company Wrocław 2012 for a meeting during which they have been analyzing all the inconveniences that might be uncounted by a person in the wheelchair. Discussion ended with the creation of a long list of comments, which were to be taken into account in constructing the new facilities. At the beginning of 2010 another meeting was held, in which Pawel Parus participated with the Deputy Sławomir Piechota. During this meeting it has been confirmed that all the comments will be implemented. Thus, we can be confident that the new stadium will meet the needs of all disabled people. The KKN had a large contribution in all the negotiations for the implementation of those changes.

KKN are also taking part in other sporting events - not necessarily related to football. KKN were active during European Championships in basketball, when KKN asked the Polish Basketball Association to reduce prices for tickets for disabled supporters. KKN also participated in the distribution of tickets for these games.

We are currently in advanced talks with the charity CAFE (Center for Access to Football in Europe). This is an organization that works with UEFA, which deals with issues of spectators with disabilities and improving the infrastructure for stadia across Europe. Our collaboration has determined that there is a need for the creation of further local Disabled Supporters clubs, and a nationwide association of disabled supporters. If in a city exists a group of disabled supporters wishing to operate in an organized manner, please contact us. Much information can be found on our website www.kkn.wroclaw.pl.

Please note that the KKN is a fully democratic and all members are treated equally. Everyone is entitled to his or her idea and every opinion is listened and taking into consideration. You can learn about our initiatives from our website or through local media. 

Paweł Parus

Klub Kibiców Niepełnosprawnych

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