Real Betis is ready for the most inclusive match in the world

The event also aims to bring together a large gathering of people with functional diversity in the stands.

Real Betis Balompié will host the most inclusive match in the world on 18 February at the Benito Villamarín Stadium. This initiative aims to bring together fans from all over the world with functional diversity to raise awareness around the fact that anybody can and should equally enjoy a football match, regardless of their needs.

For this event, the club has joined forces with Integrated Dreams, an NGO based in Lisbon, whose mission is to represent people with disabilities in the world of sport through inclusion, development and education. They have been further supported by the World Football Summit.

During the match, the Real Betis kit will have the numbers printed in Braille and prior to it starting, there will be a series of actions that will take place, including:

• The bibs used for warm-up will be screen-printed with the colorAdd code, which represents with symbols of the different color shades, in order to be identified by colorblind fans
• There will be different exhibitions of adapted sports for the fans to participate in before the match
• Players will be walked into the field by children with functional diversity, an action that Real Betis carries out every year in the disability match
• The anthem will be interpreted in sign language from different points of the field and shown across the giant screens of the stadium

Adding to the series of actions that will be developed, players from the soccer team Flamencos Amputados Sur CF, an Andalusian team made up of amputees, will take center stage in the halftime match that will be played on the pitch, with the support of Real.

This match aims to break the world record of the largest gathering of fans with functional diversity, in a bid to establish a global milestone in terms of the inclusion of people with disabilities in sports.

Real Betis will take advantage of this event to release a match guide in pictograms and other “easy to read” formats, which will be available on the Club’s website, designed as a cognitive accessibility tool.

To improve the experience and accessibility at the Real Betis stadium on match days, Real Betis will take the opportunity to survey fans with functional diversity who attend the match.

Real Betis disability and accessibility department

Real Betis is working to improve the experience of its fans on match days. Thus, the entity has a specific group of volunteers who are responsible for carrying out the “We accompany you to your seat” service, which consists of helping people with disabilities or mobility difficulties to access their seats. In addition, Real Betis also has accessible ticketing available for wheelchair users, as well as sensory packages for people with autism, becoming the first team in LaLiga to implement this initiative.