Tbilisi’s football stadium modified for visually impaired fans

Visually impaired football fans can now get more enjoyment from sporting matches hosted at Tbilisi's Dinamo Arena thanks to a new commentary system, presented by the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia yesterday. 

The new technology (also known as tiflo commentary) will allow fans with any degree of visual disability to receive an audio description of the match they are attending.

Specially trained commentators will narrate the play and describe the atmosphere in the stadium through an audio system reaching visually impaired people via their personal mobile devices and headphones.

The commentary will include details like physical descriptions and facial expressions, to recreate the full experience for viewers. 

Audio commentary is provided by commentators specially trained to create full match experience for visually impaired fans. Photo from UEFA.

The frequency of the audio description technology can cover the entire football stadium, meaning visually impaired fans can sit anywhere in the stadium and receive the service.

The new system was first used at Dinamo Arena during the football Champions League qualifying round match between Dinamo Tbilisi and Armenian club Alashkert FC yesterday.

Through cooperation between the Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE) and Georgia's Ministry of Sport, the new technology was also tested before the match by a selected group of visually impaired individuals.

CAFE has previously collaborated with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and FIFA, the world football governing body by implementing the audio commentary system in leading tournaments like the Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014.

The technology was also used at the recent Euro 2016 tournament in France.