Social media is the place many football fans go to keep up to date with their favourite club on the match day action, important team news, and behind the scenes fun. It’s also a space for fans to connect with each other, creating a sense of community and even forming friendships.
It’s often the place fans go to when they can’t attend or watch a match, giving them chance to catch real-time updates.
With the 2024/25 WSL season just underway, social media is the place to be to be keeping up to date with your favourite team.
But what about if you’re blind or visually impaired? The experience might be a little different.
It’s important to say that even if you can’t see an image, you shouldn’t be excluded from accessing the content.
Many blind and visually impaired people rely on alt text to access images, memes and gifs. Alt text, also known as alternative text or image descriptions, is a written description of an image, making it accessible to blind and visually impaired people, particularly those who use screen readers – a piece of technology that reads out loud what’s on the screen.
When it comes to accessing football related content, alt text is vital for screen reader users to feel included.
Could you imagine not being able to access content from your favourite team? That’s the reality for blind and visually impaired fans when images don’t have alt text.
You might not think that alt text is important. It’s probably something you don’t hear about often, particularly in relation to football. For blind and visually impaired fans, its impact is huge. It opens up the online football space for us. It allows us to feel part of the action and part of the community.
On the face of it, it might seem simple. Is it really that hard to take an extra minute or two to make your images, memes and gifs accessible?
At the time of writing, with only four of the clubs in the WSL adding alt text to images they share on X/Twitter, with other platforms being even fewer, the numbers tell a different story. Blind and visually impaired fans are being left out on a daily basis, all due to a lack of accessibility.
Let’s take a look at the teams that are including blind and visually impaired fans in their social media content, and those who aren’t.
We’ll start with the teams who are leading the way. The teams who for the most part, consistently add alt text to images they share on X/Twitter are:
· Arsenal
There are 12 teams in the WSL. That’s less than half who are making a commitment to digital accessibility. Perhaps most importantly, making a commitment to including blind and visually impaired fans.
That number should be even higher.
Making content accessible isn’t about ticking a box. It’s about making sure that everyone feels included. It’s about telling disabled fans “we want you here”.
When that doesn’t happen, people feel excluded and left out. It’s a feeling of disappointment. Some of us questioning whether our favourite club really care about disabled fans at all. That’s a real kick in the teeth, I’m telling you.
Before we move on, we have to give a nod to the Barclays Women’s Super League X/Twitter account. They consistently add alt text, also doing the same on Instagram – something every single club in the WSL needs to take note of.
The fact that the remaining 8 teams in the Women’s Super League don’t add alt text is a telling reminder that we have a long way to go when it comes to accessibility and inclusion in women’s football.
Social media is a fast-paced environment. When you add a live match into the mix, that’s heightened. However, accessibility should never be thrown to the sidelines. The difference it makes is paramount. We just need clubs to listen to disabled fans.
Take a look at the following list. Does it show a commitment to accessibility and inclusion? Does it tell us that the WSL is the most accessible, inclusive league in women’s football?
The remaining 8 teams and those who don’t add alt text are as follows:
· Chelsea
· Spurs
· Everton
· Brighton
· West Ham
Where do we go from here? It can sometimes feel like disabled fans are speaking into the void. The two lists of comparison are proof of that.
We all need to rally together to put accessibility centre pitch. Online accessibility is as much an important part of the fan experience than the accessibility of a match.
By adding alt text, it means that everyone can engage with the content and show their support to their favourite club. For the teams themselves, it means that they can promote inclusivity and make a positive impact on a wider audience. The current numbers tell us that we have a long way to go to make that positive impact.
It’s a small step that makes a huge difference in creating an accessible and welcoming online environment.
It couldn’t be easier to do; when you upload your image, tap “add description”, write your alt text (including any text in the image), and tap done. It’s that simple.
Whether you’re attending a match or keeping up-to-date on social media, you should be able to feel included. You should feel like your favourite team care.
Here’s hoping that every single team in the WSL and beyond will show their commitment to accessibility through their social media presence.
This new season is the perfect time to start.
