A world first in Jan Breydel! The game against Westerlo turned out to be a very special experience for some members of Deaf Club Brugge Fans, our fan club for deaf and hard of hearing Club supporters. These members had the chance to test a device which converts the noise in the stadium into vibrations.
The game against Westerlo was the first football match in the world where this kind of device was deployed. In the past it had already been used by deaf people during concerts, operas and car races. The device is actually a kind of harness which can make you feel vibrations at 24 different spots on your body. All the noise that can be heard in the stadium is converted into vibrations which the deaf and hard of hearing get to feel immediately. The test case was conducted by the company CityMesh, marking a first in Belgium. Club sees this project as an opportunity to improve the matchday experience for deaf and hard of hearing people even more.
“It fits within our story of how we can do better for all our fans", said Peter Gheysen, Head of the Club Brugge Foundation. “We were one of the first teams with a separate stand for blind people, where two commentators now provide the audio description for our blind Club members. Moreover, we have a fan club for the deaf and hard of hearing for more than two years already. We try to make the matchday experience as accessible as possible for them. For instance, during the title celebrations two years ago, we hired interpreters to make sure blind fans could follow everything that was going on."
