NEC Nijmegen Receives Donation for Stadium Blind Stand
In 2014, in collaboration with Koninklijke Visio, the expertise center for visually impaired and blind people, NEC Nijmegen created a “Blind Stand” in their stadium with 20 seats available to fans with visual impairments. From this section, supporters can enjoy the match experience by hearing the match report directly from the commentators who describe the match from their perspective via a headset.
NEC Managing Director Wilco van Schaik has always been enthusiastic about the Blind Stand: “This is a great initiative that we as a club are really proud of. NEC is there for everyone and this blind stand really proves that. The enthusiastic commentary ensures a fantastic match experience for our guests. A grateful and wonderful initiative through which NEC shows its social heart again!” (NEC Maatschappelijk).
For visually impaired and blind people, experiencing a football match can be quite a challenge. The noise of the stadium and the distance from the playing field are big obstacles in their experience. For these reasons, matches are usually much less accessible for people with a visual impairment. The Blind Stand is a great solution to this problem.
NEC always pushes itself to be as open and welcoming to new and old supporters as possible. The Blind Stand project fits this perfectly. A great initiative that has brought fans and club together to make a difference in people’s lives – an initiative that is certainly #Morethanfootball.
