Accessibility in Soccer Stadiums: Infrastructure and Organization in Support of People with Reduced Mobility – A Use Analysis

To understand how the disabled, or rather People with Reduced Mobility (PRM), face barriers to accessing, arriving at, and using stadium facilities and constructed areas that should attempt to ensure accessibility. Due to the current state of usability of space and equipment in terms of accessibility, soccer stadiums and gyms regulated by the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) responded to demands for accessibility by adapting projects reflecting the reality of Brazilian soccer stadiums. Although older structures, they seek to meet the needs of PRM. Nevertheless, these stadiums created obstacle for users by generally offering reduced usability. To find elements for understanding stadiums’ accessibility, we used Activity Analysis as a methodology. Most ergonomics publications from French-speaking countries call Activity Analysis the core of the foundations and the methodological approach called Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA). Based on the use of accessible stadium infrastructure by people with disabilities, we identified intercurrences in the use of apparatuses, equipment and constructed areas, as well as in the organizational sphere: in the use of care services for PRM, game day support and information provided by stadium administrators. These conclusions are limited responses overall in continuing efforts to improve access and to reduce organizational, physical and other types of barriers in sports facilities. However, raising these questions will contribute to new projects being rethought and to the importance of expanding the concept of accessibility.