Look families go behind the scenes with Charlton Athletic

This autumn, four visually impaired young people and their families swapped their usual Saturday routine for something a bit different: a trip to Charlton Athletic’s home ground, The Valley.

Over two days, our group got a behind-the-scenes stadium tour and watched Charlton take on Swansea City with live audio description.

Exploring the stadium

Excitement was high as our young people and their parents arrived at The Valley for an exclusive tour of the stadium.

The group were taken into the players’ dressing room, where they could touch the football jerseys hanging ready for matchday and get a sense of the space where the team prepares before kick-off. Out on the pitch, our young people had the chance to feel the grass underfoot, walk the length of the turf and build a real sense of the size of the ground, something that’s hard to picture from the stands alone.

Along the way, the group met some of the staff who keep the stadium running day to day, from groundskeepers to matchday hosts, and heard first-hand what goes into getting The Valley ready for 27,000 fans. For young people who usually experience football from the stands or through the radio, this hands-on, up-close introduction to the stadium was a real highlight of the trip.

Match day ready!

The next day, the group came back for the main event: Charlton Athletic versus Swansea City.

Everyone had front row seats, right by the pitch, so that those with some useful vision could follow the play as well as hear it. The match was audio described throughout, with a trained describer narrating the action in real time. Who has the ball, how the play is building, what’s happening off the ball. For our visually impaired young people, it meant following every pass, tackle and goal as it happened.

There was a lovely surprise moment too, when Look got a shout out from the match commentator over the stadium tannoy.

Parents watched alongside their children, and everyone had the chance to spend time with other families in the Look community, comparing notes on the match and swapping stories over half-time.

Behind the scenes with Cait

Look intern Cait was there to capture the action, sharing her own experience of the day as it happened, from collecting the audio description headsets to settling into those front row seats with her guide dog Honey.

Why this matters

Events like this sit at the heart of what Look does. We know that finding accessible things to do as a family isn’t always straightforward, and that visually impaired young people don’t always get the same access to experiences their friends do, like a matchday out.

Trips like this one give young people the chance to try something new, build confidence in a new environment and enjoy time with people who understand their experience, all while doing something that’s fun. For parents, it’s an equally valuable chance to relax, meet other families on a similar journey, and enjoy the match too.

A huge thank you to Charlton Athletic for hosting our group and making the tour and match so accessible and enjoyable for everyone involved.