Arsenal Football Club Launch Partnership With SignVideo For BSL Customer Services

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Arsenal Football Club are one of the first Premier League Clubs to announce a new partnership with market leaders SignVideo which will enhance the experience for deaf or hard of hearing fans that use British Sign Language (BSL).

As part of Arsenal FC’s commitment to accessibility, hard of hearing BSL fans will now be able to liaise directly with Arsenal FC via a video link to a fully qualified SignVideo BSL Interpreter.

The BSL Interpreter will relay the conversation in real time to the Arsenal FC agent.

This service is offered free to all fans who request it.

Fans can use this service to make enquiries, to purchase tickets for both home and away games, to contact the Arsenal shop, Disability Liaison Team, Customer Service helpline and to book stadium tours.  To access the service click on the SignVideo logo on the Disabled Supporters page:  https://www.arsenal.com/tickets/ticket-information/disabled-supporters-information-page

Arsenal FC recognises that British Sign Language is most deaf people’s first language and is committed to making its events and services as accessible as possible to everyone. We believe this new partnership with SignVideo will be a huge stride in doing this. Alun Francis, Arsenal’s Disability Access Officer, said: “We recognise that British Sign Language is most deaf people’s first language. As part of our Arsenal for Everyone programme we are committed to making our services as accessible as possible to everyone. This new service is part of this.”

Matthew Sykes, Arsenal fan and BSL user said “As a lifelong Arsenal fan and Disabled Supporters member I am  thrilled  that I can now contact Arsenal directly in my first language.  This is great news that Arsenal is leading the way in  improving communication accessibility for their committed deaf and hard of hearing fans.”

SignVideo provides British Sign Language (BSL) video interpreting services to enable easy communication between the community of over 150,000 deaf BSL users in the UK and hearing people. The service allows users to make and receive BSL interpreted video calls so that they can effectively and effortlessly communicate with each other. This happens through a professional video interpreter who relays the call between BSL and English and the service is available instantly on tablets, smartphones, computers and laptops via the SignVideo app and software.

Born in 2004, SignVideo is led by Jeff McWhinney, a well-known deaf entrepreneur who fights tirelessly for equality of the deaf and hearing community. Today, SignVideo, a predominantly deaf-led organisation, provides their service to the government, NHS, councils, UK banks, telecommunications providers, energy providers, helplines and many other types of organisations.

Read more and connect with us on social media at www.signvideo.co.uk.