Since 2013, the European Centre for Access to Football (CAFE) has invited representatives from both amateur and professional sports to join annual events focusing on accessibility and inclusivity, celebrating the important role that people with disabilities play in football and society as a whole.

People with disabilities are an essential part of the global sporting arena as fans, industry workers, volunteers, and leaders. Therefore, everyone should have equal opportunities to contribute in an accessible, inclusive, and welcoming environment.

The CAFE Action Week is the largest event that allows fans with disabilities, para-fan clubs, clubs, stadiums, leagues, national associations, NPOs, and all those interested in accessibility and inclusivity to come together to support the initiative for equal opportunities #TotalAccess.

Since the full-scale war, the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) has been actively collaborating with the European Centre for Access to Football to improve football access for Ukrainian fans with disabilities. Free tickets were distributed upon request for matches of the national team and their companions, audio descriptions were provided, and accessibility training was conducted for club professionals working with disabled fans.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, disabled fans have particularly needed support from their clubs and football community. Unfortunately, the main Ukrainian team is forced to play away matches.

Despite this, UAF supports disabled fans and provides free tickets for Ukrainians who were forced to seek refuge abroad and their companions.

We also spoke with one of these fans, Artem Zhinkin.

— Artem, first of all, tell us which club you support and how long have you been a fan?

— I am a fan of FC "Dnipro." My overall fandom career is over 25 years. However, if we talk about my wheelchair-fan career, it started in 2012 with the Euro match between Ukraine and France at the "Donbass Arena." That was when I first attended a game as a wheelchair fan.

— How often did you attend club matches and national team games?

— Since I don't live in Dnipro, I was able to attend fewer of my club's matches than I would have liked. However, I tried to take advantage of every opportunity to see a "Dnipro" game.

As for national team games, there were even fewer due to the fact that even if they played home matches, their geography covered all of Ukraine. Of course, I tried not to miss those games that took place in Dnipro and Donetsk, but only started visiting in Kharkiv and Kyiv from 2017. In 2021, I even managed to attend a national team match in Odessa.

— What challenges do you face when attending matches as a wheelchair user?

— The main problem is distance and travel to the stadium. By the way, I have a personal record that I don't want to break under any circumstances — 34 hours on the road for a national team match in Bucharest.

— How has your life changed since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine? Is there still room for football?

— Psychologically, nothing has changed since February 24, 2022, because I, like all Ukrainians, have been living in a state of war since February 2014. However, geographically, the changes were drastic — I moved to Poland.

There is still room for football thanks to "Shakhtar," "Dynamo," and the national team, as they play their international matches in Poland. And Polish stadiums look like home, like in Ukraine, during these games.

— Your plans for the future and wishes for fans.

— Plans for the future are not many — to return home and celebrate victory. I wish all fans victories of their teams and our national team! And also, I hope for the fastest possible victory of our most important current team — the Armed Forces of Ukraine!

We add that regional football associations have joined CAFE Action Week by supporting the campaign with information or organizing events for the youngest fans.

We believe that after our victory, big football will return to Ukrainian stadiums and millions of Ukrainians can enjoy it!