PARIS (AP) — Instead of having their names on their jerseys, Toulouse and Lorient soccer players will wear emojis of different disabilities during Saturday’s Ligue 1 match.
The move is part of the French Football League’s awareness campaign aimed at providing better stadium facilities for people with disabilities in the long term. The pictograms depict seven disabilities: visual impairment, cognitive impairment, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, debilitating disease, motor disability, and intellectual disability.
“This design embodies our collective commitment to the inclusion and visibility of people with disabilities,” the Ligue de Football Professionnel said on Tuesday. in a statement. “The seven emojis will form a central part of an awareness campaign that will be rolled out during the match.”
Saturday’s game will feature an accessible shuttle service for people with disabilities. AD (Audio Description) service. We have visual aids and spaces specially designed for people with sensory impairments and autism, and are staffed full-time.
LFP added that the forecourt of the 33,000-seat Stadium de Toulouse will also be transformed into an awareness space.
The event is called ‘Most Inclusive Match’ and will be hosted by LFP in collaboration with Spain-based event planner World Football Summit and Integrated Dreams, a Portugal-based non-profit organization dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the sports industry.
Toulouse will be the first French club to host the event, which has been hosted by Spanish football clubs Real Betis, Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad for the past three years.
Before the match itself on Saturday, an awareness campaign and job fair focusing on people with disabilities will be held. Toulouse Business School will host a conference focused on inclusion and innovation in education and business, followed by workshops. Several associations offer introductory sessions on: blind soccer and wheelchair rugbyboth featured in paris paralympics In 2024.
The Toulouse and Lorient players will then take to the field for Saturday’s match, accompanied by children with disabilities and non-disabled children, reinforcing the message of inclusion.
Kicking off the ceremony will be Lucas Mazur, a two-time Paralympic badminton champion, and Mayanu, a 21-year-old French actress with Down syndrome. They are event ambassadors.
“Soccer is the most popular sport in the world because in theory everyone can play and everyone can enjoy it, but the reality is that millions of people with disabilities are still unable to watch live matches,” said Marian Otamendi, co-founder and CEO of WFS. “Most Inclusive Match was created to tackle the many barriers that still prevent people with disabilities from experiencing football to its fullest.” ___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
