WELCOME to Enables (Disabled Supporters Association), the supporter group for people with disabilities at Watford Football Club.

WFC Enables was established in March 2007 by a group of enthusiastic Watford supporters and Watford FC staff to provide a voice for disabled supporters.

The group will also establish a platform for regular dialogue with the Club relating to the stadium development and the improvements to facilities for the disabled and also create a social forum for supporters to enjoy meeting and talking about what drives them on - Watford FC!

The groups other key objectives are noted in the organisations constitution which you can see here.

Membership of WFC Enables is £5 per annum with cheques payable to 'WFC Enables.' An application from is attached at the bottom of this page, please send to Watford FC Ticket Office, care of WFC Vicarage Road, Watford, WD18 0ER

Mission Statement

Watford Football Club aims to foster a strong relationship between the club and its supporters with disabilities. Under the stadium redevelopment programme, we will endeavour to enhance the opportunities and facilities that we offer to spectators with disabilities. These improved facilities are not only for our own supporters, but will include those who visit Vicarage Road from other football clubs and other visitors from around the world.

Message from the Chairman

Welcome to "Enables". I am the current Chairman of the newly formed supporters group "enables". "Enables" has been formed for all supporters of WFC with a disability and their families/personal assistants.

This group was started early this year between a few dedicated disabled fans, the club and the supporter's trust. Our objectives are to make all aspects of supporting WATFORD FC both home and away fully accessible to ALL.

We have started this long journey to full equality for all, by, becoming aware of each other's disability and the problems that a person with that disability encounters as a supporter.

We are consulting with WFC to find the best way forward for the club to provide equipment and services to get to that point of Equality. In the short time we have been talking to the club they have put in place various practices. We now have a Disability liaison officer in the four main areas of Vicarage Road stadium to help Disabled fans; a D.L.O is now in place in the Ticket office Joanne Simonds 01923 496250 to assist you with your ticket requirements

And for the away games the club has acquired the service of a wheelchair accessible coach with disabled awareness trained stewards. This new accessible coach service will start for the Cardiff Match on Wednesday the 19th September.

The only request that the club have made is if you require this coach service, you inform the ticket office at least a week before the day of travel that you are intending to use the coach. This is so that the correct number of seats can be removed from the coach to allow space for the Wheelchairs.

Leigh Hutchings (Chairman Enables)

Wheelchair Accessibilty

We currently have 37 wheelchair places at the stadium, which consist of 21 spaces in the Rookery End and 10 Spaces in the Vicarage Road End for home supporters. Should there be a requirement for a personal assistant to be present, this can be accommodated in the seating immediately behind the wheelchair space. We may sometimes have availability for cup games .To find out find out availability for cup matches please contact the Ticket Office.

We have six spaces that are allocated for visiting supporters in the Vicarage Road End and these are available through the ticket office at the relevant visiting club.

Spectators with visual impairments

RNIB, HBOS Foundation, V and The Football Foundation - the UK's largest sports charity - have teamed up with Watford FC to launch Soccer Sight.
The club has received audio equipment which now allows visually impaired supporters to sit in any part of the ground and listen to the commentary which is provided by volunteers from the Hospital Radio team.

For the next three years Soccer Sight is working with Watford FC to help the Club make their facilities more accessible to blind and partially sighted football fans through staff training, accessible information and specially designed commentary equipment.

RNIB's Soccer Sight initiative will encourage blind and partially sighted fans to attend games by providing "audio descriptions" of the games through specially designed radio headsets.

Should you wish to bring along your guide dog to this facility, please contact the Ticket Office directly so arrangements can be made.

Any visiting supporters wishing to utilise this facility will be situated in this area and will need to make contact initially through the Ticket Office of the relevant club and will be dealt with on an individual basis.

Ambulant Disabled

Subject to availability of tickets we will accommodate upon request and deal with each person on an individual basis.

To download a membership form, click here.

How to contact us :-

Watford Football Club Ticket Office
Vicarage Road Stadium
Watford
Herts
WD18 0ER

Telephone number 01923-496250
e-mail joanne.simonds@watfordfc.com

Equality and Diversity Policy

This is WFC Enables group's statement of intent:

a) WFC Enables recognises that many people in our society experience discrimination or social exclusion for reasons that cannot be considered proper. These include: race, religion, creed, colour, national and ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, social class, income level, criminal record or any type of disability sensory / physical / mental.

b) WFC Enables will challenge discrimination and lack of opportunity in its own policy and practise.

c) WFC Enables aims to create a culture that respects and values each other's differences. Enables sees these differences as an asset to our work.

d) We are opposed to all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination. All members and volunteers will be treated fairly. Selection for membership, training, development or any other benefit will be on the basis of aptitude, ability and need.

e) WFC Enables is committed to preventing any form of direct or indirect discrimination.

f) All volunteers, employees and committee members must support the objectives of this Equality and Diversity policy. Failure to do so may result in ineligibility for membership.

1. Implementation

The group's Chairman has specific responsibility for the effective implementation of this policy. Each committee member and volunteer also has responsibilities and we expect all of our members to abide by the policy and help create the equality environment, which is its objective.

The policy is communicated or available to all members, through distributing copies of the policy to every member at committee meetings, via the WFC website and our forums. New members joining WFC Enables will also be given copies of the policy.

Adequate resources will be made available to fulfil the aims of this policy.

2. Monitoring

Monitoring of the Equality and Diversity policy and its implementation is the responsibility of the Committee.

3. Complaints

Members who believe that they have suffered any form of discrimination, harassment or victimisation are entitled to raise the matter with a member of the Committee. All complaints will be dealt with seriously, promptly and confidentially.

These internal procedures do not replace or detract from the rights of members to pursue complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the Race Relations Act 1976 and other relevant legislation.

Every effort will be made to ensure that members making complaints will not be victimised. Any complaint of victimisation will be dealt with seriously, promptly and confidentially. Victimisation will result in disciplinary action and may warrant exclusion from the Enables group.

Leigh Hutchings (Chairman Enables)