11 May
South African PwDs Assured Access at FIFA Stadia is Important
South African Disability Alliance (SADA) members burnt tyres at the South African Football Association House earleir in the year to protest lack of accessibility to 2010 World Cup stadia by people with disabilities. The Nigerian Voice reports that they also demonstrated outside the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg to protest lack of amenities provided for them at host city stadia during the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in June. About 100 members of SADA also handed over a memorandum of demands to FIFA local organising committee (LOC) CEO Danny Jordaan. The Mail and Guardian reports that Jordaan, on accepting the memorandum, said only three stadia were not accessible to the disabled, and that while people in wheelchairs had to buy tickets, the people pushing the wheelchairs did not. ”We care about you,” said Jordaan, explaining that there was a memorandum of understanding signed between SADA and the LOC. SADA has demanded that the LOC ensure a safe and equitable environment for all spectators with disabilities, including at fan park facilities. It also wanted to see an accessible transport plan approved and implemented by all host cities. The protests where held in March. Since then, efforts to improve access have become news (see 3 May 2010)
Contributed by Veroniek Maat, Intern, NZ Tourism Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, and Masters Student, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
