There are 92 clubs in the top four divisions in English football, but only a handful have installed pitchside assistive listening systems. This is despite governing bodies such as FIFA and UEFA calling on clubs to use them. This means that for many fans, the announcements made on public address systems are lost in the general hubbub, razzamatazz and excitement of the crowd....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable change for clinical practice; this is an accessibility and sports venue policy article with no direct bearing on audiological assessment or treatment.
Widespread adoption of assistive listening technology in large public venues like football stadiums would meaningfully improve real-world hearing access for a significant portion of the deaf and hard-of-hearing population.
- 01Only a handful of English football's 92 top-four division clubs have pitchside assistive listening systems installed.
- 02FIFA and UEFA have both issued calls for clubs to improve accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing supporters.
- 03The gap between governing body guidance and club-level implementation is large.
- 04Assistive listening systems can directly connect to hearing aids or loop systems, reducing background noise in loud venues.
- 05The piece highlights individual clubs taking proactive steps as examples for others to follow.
Only a handful of English football's 92 top-four division clubs have installed pitchside assistive listening systems.
opinionpartially supportedFIFA and UEFA have called on clubs to install assistive listening systems for deaf and hard-of-hearing fans.
quotesupported
