30 Jan 2008Disabled fans let down by Premier League clubs

Premier League sides are failing to provide appropriate facilities for disabled fans.

That is according to a new report from the Nationals Association of Disabled Supporters (Nads), which carried out a survey of the top 20 clubs in England.

It found that only Bolton and Blackburn meet the recommended spacing requirements, while Arsenal scored well with 96 per cent.

Some of the worst performing clubs were Tottenham, Portsmouth and Fulham, all of which provide less than a third of the required space.

The survey comes after the recommendations were first made public in 2003 and many are disappointed that some of the nation's top clubs have failed to take action in that time.

Around 30,000 disabled people are estimated to regularly attend football matches in England and Nads has expressed its concern that these fans are not benefiting from adequate facilities.

"Nads feels that is important that clubs meet these demands whether they are in the business of building new facilities or not," read a statement from the organization.

"Nads believes that clubs should now be moving towards reconciling disabled seating supply and demand and the guidelines."

© Copyright