how FC Metz made its stadium more accessible to supporters with disabilities

Innovative in France, FC Metz, which hosts the Parisian champion on Sunday, has initiated an active policy of making its stadium accessible to people with disabilities.

The Saint-Symphorien stadium rises along the arm of the Moselle which crosses Metz. Supporters flock by the hundreds to the entrances for the meeting between FC Metz and Losc, important in the race to maintain the home team; in that to Europe for visitors.

At the foot of the South Stand – refurbished – Caroline Gateau tries to convince a couple, whose man is visually impaired, to stay to watch the match. Since September, she has been the club’s Disabled Supporter (SSH) representative, responsible for steering and implementing the action plan on the accessibility of the stadium to this audience. His appointment is rooted in a broader desire by the club to offer the most complete welcome experience possible to all FC Metz supporters with a visible or invisible disability.

Almost two years ago, when work on the South Stand – inaugurated in 2020 – was completed, the club had already made progress in terms of accessibility. A collective made up of four associations and employees representing several components of the club was created to optimize dialogue between all parties. A set of reflections were then initiated to make the lives of SSH easier: “For example, the doors of disabled toilets were too heavy for people to handle easily. If you don’t have the experience or if you don’t talk to people who are faced with this on a daily basis, you can’t necessarily anticipate it.”

This dialogue group has met every two months since March 2022 and discusses infrastructure aspects but also spectator experience. “OWe want to be a driving force in improving this experience for our disabled supporters. Some supporters are ultras and others prefer to watch the match in a family stand. We want our spectators with disabilities to have the same choice as others.” In total, 194 seats distributed in the stadium’s four stands, including turns, are accessible to wheelchair users (UFR). Added to this are dedicated parking spaces, a site reserved only for SSH, a ticket office adapted to all disabilities with preferential prices (up to less 70% on the ticket).

We take one of the 11 elevators installed during the work to find Caroline Gateau, on the top floor of the South Stand. This former communications manager in a bank in Luxembourg checks that all the supporters are properly seated, opens a door to those who wish to collect audio description equipment used for visually impaired people or briefs the eight reception agents dedicated to this public. “There was never anyone who said to themselves ‘I was so poorly received, I’ll never come back’. It’s a small victory. I find it extremely important to be able to welcome all the audiences in this stadium. Because football is the most popular sport, everyone wants to be there.”she explains, while keeping an eye on the meeting.

When the elevators open onto the top floor of the stand, a feeling of space takes over the visitor. The aisles are wide and supporters who use wheelchairs have clearly marked places, as do their companions. Four residents of the specialized reception center of the Regional Hospital Center (CHR) of Metz-Thionville attended the match, with eight accompanying people. They all suffer from severe disabilities and are on respiratory assistance: “The place is suitable. These are big armchairs, we can’t put them everywhere, the space is well designed, with a clear view of the entire stadium, it’s very good”enthuses Antoine Bolmont, director of cabinet and communications at the CHR.

A little further into the stand is a room whose interior cannot be seen. On the door is written: “Sensory room”. It is the first club in France to have one in place. Being tested from Metz-Monaco, it allows, particularly for people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), to watch the match in a situation which does not generate stress for them because of the noise or the crowd: “There are little soothing lights, special acoustics, sensory games including little anti-stress balls, little games to untangle and tangle. We also put in synthetic turf. It is true that the ASD (autism spectrum disorder), it’s a bit of a blind spot, there is no difficulty in getting around, it’s not a visible handicap, so we don’t realize it.” explains Caroline Gateau, who was inspired by the English model to develop this room.

“We also wanted to focus on things that are easy to set up, which do not necessarily require a huge budget, but they can provide a lot of services.says Hélène Schrub. We receive a lot of emails from people who say: ‘A member of my family has an autistic disorder, I would like to go to the match, how is that possible?’.” The two women say they are already receiving requests for the sensory room for next season.

“I want us to be at the forefront of what is best for supporters with disabilities. And that evolves all the timeinsists the CEO of FC Metz. We have a lot of supporters who told us: ‘I don’t come to the stadium anymore because the accessibility didn’t work.’ And since the construction of the South Stand and the fact that we communicated about it, there are many who come back, who are subscribers and who are delighted to benefit from it.

Between the creation of the collective and the end of the 2024 season, the club benefited from a 70% increase in its SSH and support subscribers. And he doesn’t intend to stop there: menus in Braille, labeling of places according to disabilities, dedicated queues, training of all staff… FC Metz is giving itself between 12 and 18 months to go even further far : “It is our social responsibility as a professional football club anchored in its territory to move in this direction.concludes Hélène Schrub.