JustBeingCP

West Bromwich Albion and Hull City will Unite for Access when the 2 clubs meet in the Sky Bet Championship at The Hawthorns this afternoon. The campaign is run by disability access charity, Level Playing Field (LPF) and is a celebration of all things access across sport and the venues that it is held in.

I have been working with the team at West Midlands Trains (WMT) to ensure that all supporters have options when deciding how to travel to matches at the home of their favourite team.

Accessible waiting spaces in the form of a square that are blue and white with a white wheelchair logo and the words “for mobility assistance, please wait here” inside, and other types of signage indicating where the spaces are have also been installed by the operator at the hawthorns railway station.

I am of course delighted that the operator recognised that there was a real need for the spaces so that we (the disabled community) aren’t forgotten by event station staff and train crew whilst at the station waiting for our trains.

Uniting for Access is not just about what happens once we are inside the stadium waiting for the much anticipated action to begin, it should also be about what is going on in the build up to that, i.e how you get to the venue itself.

Level Playing Fields (LPF) annual survey of supporters who identify as having a disability found that in 2024, 22% of those asked saw inaccessible public transport as a barrier to them attending live sport, this was up by 2% on the previous year (2023).

The 2025 edition of the survey hasn’t been launched yet but when it is later this year I hope that those who respond say that inaccessible public transport is no longer a barrier to them visiting The Hawthorns to cheer on there beloved baggies.

It’s time to get behind both clubs this afternoon as they send a message of unity to there fan base and of course the wider community, at the end of the day ” off the field of play we are one big family”.

I am proud to be a disabled football supporter

Do you travel by rail on a regular basis and require some assistance to either board or disembark services?, if the answer is yes your assisted travel can be booked up to 2 hours before departure in one of three ways:

By Phone: 0800 024 8998 or by using Next Generation Text – 18001 0800 024 8998.

Online: https://booking.passengerassistance.com.

By using the App: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/passenger-assistance/id1542190496.

Did you enjoy reading this post all about how I have helped to improve the match-day travel experience for West Bromwich Albion supporters with the help of West Midlands Trains (WMT), if the answer is yes then why not subscribe and receive future ones direct to your inbox within a few short minutes of publication.

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I wish all those attending the match later a safe, successful and of course enjoyable afternoon and thank them for taking the time to unite for access at the home of West Brom.

It is only right that I take a few seconds out of writing this post to thank the incredible team at WMT for all there hard work and of course dedication to this project over the last year or so, it hasn’t gone unnoticed and is as always much appreciated.

A massive thank you must also go to you, my loyal readers and social media followers who regularly take time out of there busy schedules to read my latest post, again it doesn’t go unnoticed and very much appreciated.

Cam