Everton Attend North West Forum

Blues Attend North West Forum

Everton were represented at the first North West Regional Forum organised by Level Playing Field recently to share best practice amongst various North West football clubs.

Level Playing Field is a registered charity that acts as a campaigning and advisory organisation for disabled fans across all sports and Everton’s Disability Access Officer and Disability Liaison Officer, the two key personnel at the Club for disability and access requirements, were both in attendance.

The objective of the forum was to provide a platform where club representatives could network, deliberate over challenges, share ideas and discuss topics such as stadium safety and ticketing procedures for disabled fans.

The event was hosted by Manchester City at the Etihad stadium with a number of other clubs represented including Manchester United, Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley and Blackburn Rovers.

The North West forum is the third regional forum to be established as part of Level Playing Field’s Working Together Project and there was unanimous agreement for the forum to continue.

Level Playing Field General Manager Ruth Hopkins said: “Level Playing Field was delighted to set up the first North West Forum as part of our Working Together project. The Regional Forums are becoming increasingly popular and we recognise there is a demand for them around the country – with the possibility even for a national forum to be established in the future. A big thank you to all the clubs that attended and made it such an informative and enjoyable afternoon.”

Everton Football Club are supporting Level Playing Field’s ‘Weeks of Action’ campaign - running until Friday 19 March, the campaign recognises those who go the extra mile to improve access and inclusion for disabled sports fans.

Michelle Kirk, the Club’s Disability Access Officer, the first of its kind in the Premier League, has spoken about the campaign and her role and said: “It makes me very proud to work for Everton, especially in my position which I am extremely passionate about and I am fully committed to ensuring the provision of services for our disabled supporters continues to be developed.

“It was great to be able to attend the first North West Regional Forum set-up with Level Playing Field recently and it was a brilliant opportunity to meet with representatives at other clubs in similar roles. We all face similar day-to-day experiences and challenges so it was really beneficial to be able to share thoughts and ideas which I’m sure will all go towards ensuring all of our disabled fans receive the best care and have the best experience when visiting Goodison Park.”

Michelle can be found around the stadium at every home game as a point of contact for any queries, issues, suggestions or feedback and is identifiable from her branded DAO hi-vis jacket. Alternatively, if you would like to contact Michelle you can do so via email at michelle.kirk@evertonfc.com or call 0151 530 5261.

Everton FC