JustBeingCP

The 2026 UEFA Champions League final has taken place between Paris Saint Germain and Arsenal in Budapest this evening.

Unfortunately, the final was shown on TNT sports and wasn’t available for everyone to witness unless they have a HBO Max or TNT subscription.

Football supporters with disabilities are in some cases unable to travel to live football matches especially within European competitions so rely on watching their favourite team compete in major European competitions from home.

As a wheelchair user who lives with cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus , I am one of the lucky ones who is able to attend live European football matches in the United Kingdom.

A few weeks ago, Aston Villa the team that I support travelled to Istanbul in Turkey and took on Freiburg of Germany in a bid to be crowned the 2026 UEFA Europa league champions.

It was never my intention to travel to Turkey and watch the boys in claret and blue compete for their first major European trophy in 30 years.

The Villa boys brought the trophy home to Birmingham and I was able to watch it unfold on the television, but that was only because I have TNT sports through HBO Max.

However not all supporters with disabilities can afford to have TV subscriptions like TNT sports or HBO Max so are able to watch their football team fight for European glory.

Individuals from across the nation have called for major European football finals to be on free to air television in the lead up to this evenings UEFA Champions League final and I am joining that call as somebody who fights for the rights of the disabled community.

Those reading this maybe thinking oh here we go again it’s all about the disabled community however I would like you to remember this, this is the only way that people like myself can enjoy the same things as our able-bodied counterparts in many cases.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of our beautiful country called on TNT Sports to make this evening’s final free to air however they didn’t meaning that thousands of individuals with disabilities may not have been able to watch the gunners in action in a European final.

Tonight I am calling on his Majesty’s government to change the law and make all major football finals, including European ones free to air so that all those who want to are able to watch major European football finals on the television.

Our (the disabled) community deserve to have the same experiences as our able bodied counterparts and this is a shining example of that.

Is it time that the law around this is changed!!!!

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Cam