A world first at Jan Breydel! For some members of the Deaf Club Brugge Fans, our fan club for deaf and hard of hearing Club supporters, the match against KVC Westerlo was a very special experience. They had the opportunity to test out a harness that converts the sound in the stadium into vibrations.
It was the first time worldwide that this type of harness was used for a soccer match. Previously, it has been used by the deaf and hard of hearing at concerts, operas, car races, ... . The harness and some straps provide a total of about 24 points on their body where they feel those vibrations. All the sounds heard in the stadium are converted in real time and people get to feel them directly. The test case was conducted by the company CityMesh, creating a first in Belgium. For Club, it is a test to re-optimize the match experience for the deaf and hard of hearing.
"It fits within our story of how we can do better for all our supporters," said Peter Gheysen of the Club Brugge Foundation. "We were one of the first with a blind stand, where now two commentators provide audio description for our subscribers there. We have also had a fan club for the deaf and hard of hearing for two years. For them, we also try to make the soccer experience accessible. During the champions celebration two years ago, for example, we provided an interpreter for them so they could also follow everything."
