Real Betis breaks the record for the number of people with functional diversity in the stands

Real Betis breaks the record for the number of people with functional diversity in the stands

Real Betis beats by almost 700 people the previous record registered in an official match, which was in the Polish League, in a match that was played in the stadium of Slask Wroclaw, which was attended by 1,074 people with disabilities.

Real Betis achieved in last Saturday’s match against Real Valladolid the challenge set by the NGO Integrated Dreams and World Football Summit in September 2022. The green and white club has managed to break the record of people with functional diversity, bringing together the largest number of fans with disabilities in the history of an official match, with 1,740 people, a figure that was announced at the beginning of the second half and which caused a standing ovation in the green and white temple. Among these fans we found people from other cities of Spain, Portugal, El Salvador or France.

A match that was a celebration of inclusion. From the pre-match, all around the Estadio Benito Villamarín you could feel that it was not a normal match, but a pre-match of the most inclusive match in the world. In addition to a greater number of fans with functional diversity, in the surroundings of the Estadio Benito Villamarín the public enjoyed exhibitions of adapted sports with the Sitting Volley Sevilla and Sevilla Quad Rugby teams. The match guides in pictograms and another in easy reading, tools for cognitive accessibility, were also unveiled.

Another moment to remember was the arrival at the stadium of Daniel, a blind Betis fan who came to the stadium from Salamanca, becoming the first fan to watch a Real Betis match accompanied by his guide dog. The Betis man from Salamanca was also able to meet Borja Iglesias after the game, an endearing encounter that is already going around the world through social networks.

“When I was a child I dreamed of being a footballer, I wasn’t aware of how lucky I would be if I ended up achieving it. Scoring goals, celebrating victories and successes together is something indescribable, but sharing moments and energy like with Daniel is something you can’t thank in any way.”

Borja Iglesias, Real Betis player

The Real Betis players have thrown themselves into this initiative, wearing their jerseys with their numbers in Braille, colour-coded ADD bibs for the colour-blind and going out onto the pitch accompanied by children with functional diversity, with whom they showed special sensitivity.

Another first for this match was the sign language anthem on the video scoreboard so that all people, without exception, could interpret the Green and Whites’ anthem. Also, amputee footballers were able to take penalties during half-time and receive the warmth of the more than 51,000 people who filled the stands of the Estadio Benito Villamarín. In “the most inclusive match”, the green and white club incorporated Ángela, a girl with Down’s Syndrome, to its staff of stewardesses and stewardesses.

Real Betis has counted on the support and encouragement of LaLiga from the very beginning to help be a loudspeaker for this initiative that seeks to inspire the rest of the world’s clubs to make football a spectacle accessible to all. “The most inclusive match” has travelled around the world and has been covered by around 150 national and international general, sports and social media outlets, appearing in media such as the BBC, The Athletic, Europapress and Servimedia and in prestigious national programmes such as El Día Después. In addition, it has had special coverage by the newspaper as at a national level.