Atletico trying to raise awareness of fans with disabilities in Champions League game [Video]

MADRID – Atletico Madrid wants to attract a record number of spectators with disabilities to a Champions League match to raise awareness about inclusion and the need to promote better access to sport for disabled fans in venues across Europe.

Thousands of supporters with disabilities are expected at Atletico’s game against Lille at Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday, when the club could break the record of 1,740 disabled fans set by Real Betis against Valladolid in the Spanish league last year in what UEFA called “the most inclusive match in the world.”

Atletico and its partners in the initiative, including the groups AccessibAll, Integrated Dreams and World Football Summit hope the feat will help launch a movement to improve access for disabled fans in sports venues.

“They proposed to us to do this type of match and automatically we said, ‘Yes,’” Atletico chief operating officer Óscar Mayo told The Associated Press. “We are not worried about the record, it’s more about the awareness, …