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ABOUT CAFE

 

 

Meet the Board of Directors

 

David Bernstein, Chairman of Board of Directors and Trustees

 

As the former Chairman of Manchester City Football Club, David has vast experience in the business of stadia. Under his leadership the club enjoyed its most successful period in recent years including a move to the City of Manchester Stadium and financial stability.

 

As a Director of the Wembley National Stadium Board for 5 years, David played an integral role in the successful delivery and opening of the fully accessible stadium and in June 2008 he was appointed Chairman. David is also Chairman of Blacks Leisure group plc and Sports Leisure Group Limited and is a Director of Ted Baker plc and Carluccios plc. He is President of NADS (the National Association of Disabled Supporters).

 

 

Lord Richard Rosser of Ickenham, Director and Trustee

 

 Lord Rosser was General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association from 1989 until his retirement in 2004, following which he was made a life peer later that year.

A lifelong football fan with a particular interest in the non-league game, he is also Vice President of the Ryman Isthmian Football League and a member of the All Party Parliamentary Football Group. Lord Rosser is a Non-Executive Director of the National Offender Management Service Board and has been a Justice of the Peace for more than 30 years. Lord Rosser is a NADS Vice President.

 

 

Chris Bird, Director and Trustee

 

 Chairman of Bird Consultancy, a PR and Media management company, with clients operating across Europe; Chris founded Bird Consultancy in 1990, after many years in commercial radio and local and regional press. His extensive experience also includes four years at Manchester City Football Club as Chief Operating Officer and Board Director. He has a wide range of other commitments within Manchester and the surrounding community and is Chief Executive of Sports Tours International, Non-Executive Director of JD Sports plc, and is Chairman of the Lord Mayor of Manchester Appeal. Chris is a NADS Vice President.

 

 

 

Joyce Cook, Managing Director and Trustee

 

 Chair of NADS, a UK registered charity representing disabled football supporters and providing guidance to other sports such as cricket, rugby and Olymics 2012. NADS was awarded the European Football Supporters Award for 2008 for its works for disabled supporters. Joyce is herself disabled and uses a wheelchair.

 

She has a good understanding of the UK Accessible Stadia Guide and Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (Green Guide) along with current progress on access guidance and technical reports for Europe. She travels extensively to matches across Europe with a resultant hands-on understanding of the many challenges for disabled supporters. Joyce also sits on the London Olympic Delivery Authority's Built Enviroment Access Panel, established to provide expert strategic and technical advice and is also advising LOCOG the management company of London 2012; has acted as a consultant to UEFA for the 2008 and 2009 UEFA Cup and Champions League Finals and Poland 2012 providing advice on disabled supporters requirements; written an advisory briefing paper for the UK Sports Minister and given evidence to the UK All Party Parliamentary Football Group on behalf of disabled supporters and their issues. She has been a guest speaker at several disability seminars talking about access to sports stadia and the issues and challenges for disabled supporters. Joyce joined other diversity representatives as part of a panel of experts consulted on the development of sports strategy at the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a member of the Inclusivity Advisory Group for the England 2018 bid team.

 

As Managing Director, Joyce heads up the team responsible for the day to day management of CAFE and its projects.

 

 

Darren Berman, Director and Trustee

 

 A solicitor with extensive experience in the sports and commercial sectors, Darren has worked for a number of years in-house at both The Football Association and Wembley National Stadium Limited. As Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs for Wembley Stadium from 2002-2009, he was responsible for legal affairs through the redevelopment and opening of the new national stadium.

 

In his time at The FA before that he worked across the range of the governing body's commercial, regulatory and administrative operations. Darren worked originally at leading London law firm Denton Hall, in its sport, media and entertainment department which was consistently ranked as a leader in that sector, where his clients included the Premier League, England & Wales Cricket Board and broadcasters, producers and marketing agencies.

 

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Meet the Team

 

Karolina Zaleska, Administration Manager

Karolina is from Poland but since 2007 she has been living and studying in the United Kingdom. Karolina is fluent in three languages: Polish, English and Italian. Karolina’s life has always been strongly connected with sport. For 12 years Karolina participated in different sport however primarily as an international Finswimming athlete. Since retiring as an athlete Karolina started her cooperation with the Polish Underwater Federation (PZPn) organizing local, national and international Finswimming events. In 2005 she moved to work in Rome, Italy for the World Underwater Confederation (CMAS), as a Sport Committee Secretary.
In 2004 Karolina started her Higher Education in specialization of Public Health at Academy of Physical Education and Sport in Gdansk, after moving to Rome she continued her education at the Rome University of Sport and Movement Sciences as a part of European student exchanged programme Socrates-Erasmus. In 2007 Karolina moved to Chester, United Kingdom in order to complete her BSc degree at University of Chester. In 2008 Karolina successfully completed her BSc degree in Sport and Exercise Sciences. This allowed her to initiate MSc degree in Sociology of Sport and Exercise at same University. In November 2009 Karolina successfully submitted her MSc thesis: “The same but different. A Figurational Analysis of sport for all policy development: a comparative study of post-war Great Britain and Poland”.
Through her education and work experience Karolina gained knowledge of sport structure in the UK and Poland, knowledge of the main international (in particular European) sports networks of relationship and power relations. She also understands sport policy processes and development as well as the potential of sport for tackling social inclusion and enhancing integration and equal opportunities and access
 

 

Keith Ferguson, UK & Eire Development Officer

 

For nearly fifteen years, Keith has been secretary of the Heart of Midlothian Disabled Supporters Club travelling extensively to matches in Scotland and across Europe. He is ambulant disabled (a bilateral lower limb amputee) and has a firsthand understanding of the many challenges that disabled supporters face.

 

Keith brings a well rounded experience to his new role previously working for the Citizens Advice Bureau and having spent many years working within the logistics industry. He continues to act as an independent advocate for the Murray Foundation, which is a UK registered charity supporting people who have been affected by limb loss in Scotland.

 

Much of Keith’s involvement to date with regard to access to sports stadia and the challenges for disabled supporters has been on behalf of his own club’s fans. Joining CAFE will allow Keith to fulfil his ambition go further in supporting disabled fans and creating better conditions in football stadia across Scotland, Northern and Southern Ireland and more widely.

 

Elena Karpukhina, Eastern European Development Officer

Elena comes originally from Russia, but for the past six years she’s been living in Kiev, Ukraine.
She has been an active participant of football movements since 2000. She started as a fan of the FC Krylya Sovetov (Samara, Russia). At the moment Elena is an official representative of the Krylya Sovetov fan club in Europe.

After moving to Ukraine, Elena also joined the football movement in that country, in 2008 she was granted the Cup for contribution to fans’ initiative in Ukraine. Sports have always been Elena’s passion. She travels a lot, visits other countries, football games and tournaments of all levels, meets different fans and initiatives. CAFE gave her an opportunity to make her hobby become her profession.

Elena used to work as Corporate Communications Manager and as a consequence developed strong relations with mass media, business communities and associations that can influence public opinion and can help promoting interests of disabled people in order to raise public awareness of the problems that disabled fans experience every day.

As CAFE Eastern European Development Officer Elena will be responsible for CAFE’s development work, support and co-ordination for the EURO 2012 in Ukraine and Poland. She applied for this position as she wishes to make her contribution to improve the situation for disabled fans in Ukraine, Russia and across Eastern Europe.

 

Western European Development Officer

To be confirmed

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Meet the Operational Advisory Group (Honorary)

The Board of Trustees will be supported by CAFE's Technical Director, James Froggatt, author of the UK Accessible Stadia Guide and a full CAFE Advisory Group of representatives and advisors from across Europe including disabled football fans and disability groups (to be announced).

 

James (Jim) Froggatt, Technical Director

 

 Jim is an architect by profession and has recently retired after serving for more than 20 years as an Inspector at the Football Licensing Authority. He is the author of the Accessible Stadia Guide and editor of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (Green Guide). He has considerable experience in the provision of access requirements for new and existing stadia both within the UK and overseas.

Jim continues to sit on a number of sports stadia guidance working parties both in Europe and the UK and he has most recently advanced the CEN 315 technical report which will be published in 2009. Jim, a NADS Vice President, will provide ongoing technical advice on stadia design and access on behalf of CAFE.

 

 

Danny Wallace, Ambassador

 

 Danny is an ex-footballer, having played professionally for England, Southampton, Manchester United and Birmingham City before retiring early with the onset of unexplained injuries. He was later diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and is now ambulant disabled. Danny has written an autobiographical book about his experiences and has also set up the Danny Wallace Foundation to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research. He is also an Ambassador for NADS and 'Kick it Out - anti-racism' charities in the UK.

 

 

Danny Mills, Ambassador 

 

Former England International, Danny Mills enjoyed a successful career playing for a number of English Premier League and Championship clubs including Manchester City, Leeds United and Middlesbrough. A long-standing knee injury eventually led to his early retirement from the game in the summer of 2009 at 32.

 

Danny became a Patron of the UK based charity ASBAH - Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus in 2002 after losing his son Archie to the condition. Whilst still playing he dedicated his spare time to fundraising and raising awareness. Since retiring Danny has been able to dedicate more time to his charity works and has decided to support both NADS (The National Association of Disabled Supporters) and CAFE at a European wide level. He will be completing the Brighton marathon in a wheelchair in April 2010 to further raise awareness and funds for ASBAH and NADS.

 
Danny believes in equal access for everybody and it is with this belief and his strong influence in the world of football that he joins CAFE as an Ambassador to raise disability awareness and ensure that all disabled people can follow football in Europe by achieving equality of access to the game.
 

 

Jeanette Dodd - NADS 'Founding Partner' Representative

Jeanette is a Management Trustee (Secretary) for NADS and a member of the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association. As a member of England Fans, she travels extensively following both her club and country in Europe and is a frequent visitor to the Czech Republic, with close family living in Prague. Jeanette is herself disabled and uses a wheelchair.

 

Jeanette works as a transport manager for her local authority and adds her expertise of accessible transport to the advisory group.

 

 

Maarten Luyts, INTRO  - European Partner Representative (Belgium)

 

Maarten works at Intro, a Belgian organisation that’s makes music festivals and sport events, including football games, accessible for disabled people. He has travelled around several stadiums in Belgium to review their accessibility.

Maarten has also introduced a grandstand for blind and partially sighted people in Belgian football stadiums. Together with the Royal Football Union, Maarten organized training days about accessibility standards and legislation for all responsible for safety and security in football stadiums.

 

 

Christopher Bray, Event Director - Fundraising and Events Honorary Officer

Christopher Bray, Event Director at MS Life joined the MS Society in 2004 having previously worked for Help the Aged and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers. He has considerable experience in fundraising for large events and created and produced the inaugural MS Life Convention in 2006, the largest European event for people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS).

 

Chris has spent the past three years developing the MS Life format, the largest event in Manchester attracted more than 3,500 visitors, including over 800 people with a disability. Christopher is also a member of the Community Outreach Team for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and is a judge for the annual Visit London Awards.

 

 

Gary Deards – Access and Stadia Development Advisor

Gary is a Chartered Tax Advisor by trade and has been involved with the issues facing disabled football supporters since 1999 with the National Association of Disabled Supporters (NADS) in the UK. Through NADS, he has worked closely with other disability organisations and bodies and has a pan-disability understanding of the many challenges faced by disabled people who follow football. Gary has also been a member of The Football Association’s Disability Advisory Group where he provided user-led advice on the issues faced by disabled football supporters into their disability football strategy and Football For All programme.

He has a good understanding of the UK Accessible Stadia Guide and Disability Discrimination Act and has provided detailed responses to consultations on such documents as British Standards 8300:2009 (Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people), various Football Licensing Authorities (FLA) guidance documents including the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (the “Green Guide”), Accessible Toilets and Safety Management. He works closely with a number of the FLA’s Inspectors, architects and stadium managers as the project leader for the NADS Stadia Development sub-committee, a consultative group for all new stadia and stadia improvements. He has carried out user-led consultations to over 50 football clubs and their stadia requirements which included preparing an access appraisal template for use by others and a disability policy for clubs.

He joins the Advisory Board to offer his technical understanding and user-led knowledge of stadium accessibility having worked alongside disabled supporters and providing support to these organisations.

 

Teresa Silva, Founder and Managing Director of Fundación También (Spain)

 

Teresa always practiced sports in general and air sports in particular, until she had a paragliding accident in 1989 when preparing for the Austrian World Championship. This episode would change her life, leaving her paraplegic.

 

As a wheelchair user, Teresa became more aware of the difficulties that disabled people face when practicing sports. In April 1998, Teresa started to practice adapted alpine skiing and got involved with several disability related organisations. In January 2000, she initiated the Santiveri Team to compete professionally in adapted ski. And through the success of this team a more ambitious project started: the Fundación También which waslaunched in December 2000.

 

Since then, the Tambien Foundation has been working continuously and actively towards the inclusivity for disabled people in the world of adapted sports, such as cycling, canoeing, sailing, paddle, diving, hiking, and other open air sports that promote contact with nature and enable its participants to share these experiences with family and friends, guaranteeing the development of disabled people’s free time and hobbies. Nowadays, Teresa practices several sports and competes professionally in sailing and alpine skiing.
 

Teresa joins CAFE with her thorough knowledge of disability and the challenges in Spain and her vast experience of accessibility issues in sports.