ABSTRACT
The success of global sport organizations relies upon identifying the profile of existing and prospective customers and effectively meeting their needs and expectations. As the current chairman of UEFA (the governing body of European football), Michel Platini, clearly stated, fans are considered major stakeholders in football. ‘Supporters are the lifeblood at the very heart of professional football. Without its supporters, professional football would not be very different from an amateur sport or pastime’.1 Similar sentiments can be found in the mission statements of many European football leagues2 and professional football clubs. In the same way, UEFA has made explicit reference to the importance of increasing the fan base of the football game by treating fans with disabilities as valuable customers based on their large economic impact. According to UEFA ‘disabled people should therefore be seen as valued customers, with good access not only as a moral issue but also as good business sense’.3
