Bristol Rovers is pleased to be taking part in 'Unite For Access' – a celebration of access and inclusion for disabled sports fans - by dedicating our upcoming fixture against Shrewsbury Town to the initiative.
The Pirates' players will warm up in Level Playing Field Unite for Access t-shirts before our fixture against the Shrews to show support for the campaign.
The Level Playing Field campaign will bring sporting communities across England and Wales together at matchdays throughout between February 28 and March 15. Level Playing Field invites all fans, disabled supporters’ associations, sports clubs, governing bodies, and other organisations to get involved in the celebrations.
There are more than 16 million disabled people in the UK, representing almost a quarter of the population, as the largest minority.
Many of those disabled people are sports fans, and we believe all supporters should be able to enjoy matchdays at The Memorial Stadium. Structural and societal barriers can prevent many disabled supporters from having that experience, however.
Everyone can play their part in making matchdays more inclusive. The 2025 Level Playing Field Annual Fan Survey results revealed ‘attitudes of others’ is the second most common barrier to disabled fans. We want to be part of a change in attitudes, to make matchdays better for everyone.
We also recognise that ‘physical access’ remains the most common barrier to disabled fans attending and are committed to making The Mem accessible to all. We invite feedback from supporters on this, as we look to make improvements. However, there was a sign of improvement with the number of respondents listing ‘difficulty purchasing tickets’ as a barrier, seeing the largest decrease and most substantial shift overall.
Disability can be a complex subject matter, and that is why we invite both disabled and nondisabled fans to engage with us through this important campaign and to ensure that access and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.
We ask you all to…
Unite for Your Team
Unite for your fans
#UniteForAccess
To find out more about the work of Level Playing Field, please visit levelplayingfield.org.uk or find them across social media by searching Level Playing Field.
