The Level Playing Field Podcast
If you're passionate about sports and believe everyone should have equal access to enjoy it, the Level Playing Field Podcast is for you. From the charity Level Playing Field. This podcast highlights the experiences of disabled sports fans, focusing on the barriers they face and the progress being made to create a more inclusive environment in stadiums and beyond. We feature real stories from fans, interviews with athletes and advocates, and discussions on how clubs and organisations are working to improve accessibility. Whether you’re new to these issues or want to learn more, join us in our mission to make sports accessible to all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
In this episode of the Level Playing Field Podcast, host Liam Bird sits down with former Brentford, Bristol Rovers, and Swansea City defender Ijah Anderson at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Ijah reflects on a playing career that spanned over 200 games for Brentford, but the conversation moves beyond football. After retiring, Ijah was diagnosed as autistic — a revelation that reshaped how he understood both his past and himself.
In this episode of the Level Playing Field podcast, guest host Joey Crabtree (Media and Communications Officer at Level Playing Field) heads to AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium for a conversation about disability inclusion, access, and community in rugby league.
He’s joined by Leeds Rhinos' Head of Customer Experience, Sian Jones, and club legend turned Inclusion Director, Jamie Jones-Buchanan.
Together, they explore the club...
In this episode of the Level Playing Field Podcast, we dive into the findings of the 2024/25 Level Playing Field Fan Survey, the largest to date with over 2,000 responses from fans across 156 clubs.
Joining host Liam Bird are three key voices behind the survey:
- Daniel Townley, Development Officer and the data expert who pulled it all together.
- Owain Davies, Chief Executive at Level Playing Field
- Tony Taylor, Chair of ...
On this episode of the Level Playing Field Podcast, Fan Liaison Officer Liam Bird sits down with multi-talented and passionate football fan Courtney Buchner and discusses her recent ADHD diagnosis.
Courtney shares her journey of self-discovery and acceptance. She explores how attending live sports has impacted her life and delves into her experiences of being a neurodiverse female football fan.
The Level Playing Field Podcast is back!
In this episode, we talk to Jon Attenborough, a passionate football fan and soon-to-be author of "Following Sam," which chronicles his journey visiting all 42 Scottish football league clubs with his assistance dog, Sam. Jon shares the logistics, highlights, and accessibility challenges of his travels, as well as the vital role Sam plays in his match day experience.
We also discuss how ...
In this episode, we delve into the essential work of Disabled Supporters Associations (DSAs) in this special episode for Volunteers' Week.
DSAs are dedicated groups formed by disabled sports fans to advocate for accessibility and inclusion within their respective clubs.
Join us as we speak with Diane from Chelsea, David from Hull City, Brian and Niraj from Brighton Hove Albion, and Simone from Coventry City, who share their e...
In this episode, Level Playing Field staff members reflect on the recently concluded Unite For Access campaign, exploring its impact on disabled sports fans, match day and non-match day activities and the future of the campaign.
You can watch this year's campaign video via this link or link below
In this Level Playing Field podcast episode, we explore the assistive technology 'Give Vision', a headset that brings the game closer to blind and partially sighted sports fans.
Fan Liaison Officer Liam Bird sits down with Joanna Liddington from Give Vision to uncover the origin and impact of this innovative tech.
Level Playing Field Chief Executive Owain Davies takes us to AFC Bournemouth, where supporters share their ...
In today's episode, we are up in the foothills of the West Pennine Moors as we visit Bolton Wanderers at the unveiling of their Changing Places facility.
In this episode, our Fans Liaison Officer, Liam, talks to two families who have been advocating for the Changing Places facility to be installed for many years at the club as well as around the country.
Liam also talks to the COO at Bolton Wanderers, Phil Mason, about how th...
In this captivating episode of the Level Playing Field Podcast, your host, Level Playing Field, Fans Liaison Officer, Liam, turns the spotlight onto an often misunderstood disability – Tourette's syndrome.
Guiding us through this exploration is Ione, a person with firsthand experience of Tourette's. But Ione's contribution goes beyond her personal journey; as the Advocacy Lead for Tourettes Action, she's at the fo...
In this exciting episode, Level Playing Field Fan Liaison Officer Liam Bird speaks to Sandra Bentley.
Sandra is the Ambassador & Business Liaison Consultant for the highly anticipated new 'Disability Expo', scheduled for July 6th and 7th at Londons ExCeL Center.
We discuss initiatives, technologies, and passionate individuals coming together to be part of the Disability Expo to make live sports and day-to-day life m...
The Level Playing Field Podcast continues its look at the women's game alongside 30,000 fans, to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United women's teams at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
While there, we spoke to several disabled supporters and personal assistants and got their views of the women's game from a disability perspective.
If you want to keep up to date with all the work Level Playing Field is doing, why not si...
Over the coming weeks, the Level Playing Field Podcast will focus on the state of women's football when attending as a disabled football fan.
In this episode, we speak to Deborah Dilworth, the Head of Women's Football at the Football Supporters Association, also known as the FSA.
If you are listening to this episode before 11.59 pm on April 7th, you can participate in the Level Playing Field women's game survey via the l...
The TWS Podcast is hosted by autistic students from the Tettenhall Wood School, and we speak to two of the presenters, Alyssa and Tom, as well as their teacher Adam.
You can listen to the TWS Podcast via the link below
https://www.podpage.com/tws-sports-podcast/
This interview took place on Fulham's dedicated Unite For Access match day.
If you would like to know more about attending a match day at Fulham as a disabled supporter, please visit Fulham Level Playing Field club page via the below link
https://www.leve...
The World Cup seems like a lifetime ago... But it was only a few weeks ago, and in this episode, we speak to two supporters who made their way over to the Qatar desert.
In November, Level Playing Field spoke to Walea fan Ian Thomas who was attending his first major tournament. You can listen back to Ian via this link.
Ian is back to talk about his experience alongside Jo McNicol, an experienced traveller watching...
We continue our celebration down at Brighton Hove Albion.
Fans Liason Officer Liam Bird takes a trip down to the south coast to meet up with Brighton super fan Ed Osborne for the first time after striking up a friendship born out of the COVID pandemic.
If you want to keep up to date with all...
Wales fan Ian Thomas is going to Qatar. England fan Anthony Joy is not.
We all know about the controversy regarding human rights issues at this World Cup. But are the issues that face disabled supporters being spoken about enough?
Is there enough accessible information out there? What about accommodation? Are the stadiums fully accessible?
Fans Liaison Officer Liam Bird asks both sets of fans all the above, plus ...
You can find out more about Colostomy UK's work, including Stoma Friendly Toilets and their work with our sporting colleagues at CAFE, by clicking the ...
Katie Pennick is the Campaigns & Comms Manager for the disability charity 'Transport For All'. She joins the Chief Executive of Level Playing Field, Owain Davies, on this month's podcast to talk about the accessibility of the UK public transport system and how it impacts disabled people daily, including on a match day.
You have until midnight, October 21st, to participate in the 'Transport For All' first...
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