Overview

As a young Sheffield United fan I want to travel to away matches to back my team and Millwall was the next adventure! I am unfortunately confined to a wheelchair and away grounds can sometimes seem daunting experiences: where is the accessible parking, where are the seats, are they accessible, where are there disabled toilets etc.? Supporting your team is a great feeling (especially when you win) and with an understanding of the problems you might encounter, I want to share my experiences of football grounds with you so you can feel a bit more confident about stadium accessibility in the future.

Transport & Parking

At The Den there is no parking for away fans but the stewards found space for us to park in the coach parking to keep us away from the Millwall fans due to their reputation. It was quite a long way to go from Sheffield so not many disabled away fans travelled to the game, which meant it was very easy for us to find a space. The only thing is that if your club took a lot of fans then it might be a bit difficult so make sure you get there very early.

Access

Once you have parked and are ready to go into the ground the stewards escort you in through an exit in the home stand to the seats. There is flat access to the seats at the front of the lower tier of the away stand so there is no chance of your view being obscured and if you don't like being with the rowdier members of the away crowd, they are in the top tier. Annoyingly you have to go back into the home stand to get refreshments so don't wear any clothes which identify allegiance to the away team.

Toilets

The disabled toilet is located in the bottom corner of the stand, fortunately not in home territory! However there is only one toilet, which could mean queues and it is dated and very narrow so is not that great for access. If your mobility is more limited than that of myself then you will struggle. Be prepared!

Staff

The escort is much needed because it does not mean pushing your way through troublesome Millwall fans, albeit the stewards and seemingly endless line of police weren't ever so welcoming! The staff in the stadium did not think to bring us refreshments, instead of making us go inside to get them. Yet since our visit, my uncle has spoken to them kindly and they have since started taking drinks to the seats; hopefully that continues in the 2016/17 season!

Anything else you wish to tell us?

It was a fun day out even though we lost 1-0 but the facilities could be better. It wouldn't stop me going again but the rowdy Millwall may put others off! P.S. Sorry this review took a bit of a long time to get online!