Live audio-descriptive commentary is available globally for the first time ever at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in Auckland at 19:00 local time (UTC+12, 09:00 Zurich time, 08:00 London time) on Thursday 20 July. 32 nations will compete to be crowned world champions, with the Final taking place in Sydney on 20 August.

Audio-descriptive commentary (ADC) is an inclusive service enabling partially sighted and blind spectators to enjoy a live match alongside their fellow supporters. The specially trained commentator provides additional narration that describes all significant visual information such as body language, facial expression, scenery, action, clothing, colours and anything else that is important to conveying the image, venue, match, event or surrounding ambience.

The service is also regularly enjoyed by other disabled people and non-disabled fans, to add a greater level of detail to describe the match.

Commentators have been trained by members of CAFE's Audio-descriptive Commentary Training Network, ensuring the highest standards and consistency of service.

ADC has been provided for fans inside the stadium at the men's FIFA World Cup since 2014, and this will mark the first time that the service has been available at the FIFA Women's World Cup. Fans watching the tournament inside the stadiums, or at home, anywhere around the world, will also be able to tune into the service to complement their experience. This also marks the first time that ADC has been provided at football matches in Australia and New Zealand.

To tune into the live ADC, listeners are required to download the FIFA Interpreting app which is available in the App Store and Google Play Store. You can directly access the app and commence downloading via the following QR code.

Once the installation is complete, listeners will be asked for an event code. Please insert the specific code (case sensitive), to tune in: ADCFWWC2023

Once the code has been accepted, listeners will have access to live ADC from inside the stadium with broadcasts typically beginning 30 minutes prior to kick off.

Listeners are encouraged to connect using a reliable WiFi, 5G or 4G connection for the duration of the ADC broadcast.

---

Live ADC will be available at the following matches:

• Hindmarsh Stadium (Adelaide / Tarntanya) matches:

Match 39 - 1 August - China PR v. England

• Eden Park (Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau) matches:

All matches

• Brisbane Stadium matches:

All matches

• Dunedin Stadium matches:

Match 33 - 30 July - Switzerland v. New Zealand

• Waikato Stadium (Hamilton / Kirikiriroa) matches:

Match 6 - 22 July - Zambia v. Japan

• Melbourne Rectangular Stadium matches:

All matches

• Perth Rectangular Stadium matches:

Match 19 - 26 July - Canada v. Republic of Ireland

• Sydney Football Stadium matches

All matches

• Stadium Australia (Sydney / Wangal) matches

All matches

• Wellington Regional Stadium matches

Match 17 - 25 July - New Zealand v. Philippines

Match 23 - 27 July - USA v. Netherlands

A full match schedule is available to download from the FIFA website, to confirm fixtures, venues and kick-off times.

---

CAFE Operations Manager Michael Rice said, "The availability of ADC during the FIFA Women's World Cup is a fantastic development that will support so many partially sighted and blind passionate football fans, not just in the stadiums but around the world. This is a huge step forwards for the women's game - the service will offer tremendous support for countless listeners who rely on ADC to complement their matchday experience, and we are delighted that listeners will be able to tune in from wherever they are across the globe".

“If you have never had the opportunity to listen to ADC before, whether you are disabled or non-disabled, this is the perfect chance. We are more than happy to advise on how you can implement ADC at your stadiums and, through the CAFE Audio-descriptive Commentary Training Programme, ensure that you have highly-skilled commentators available to deliver the service locally”, added Michael.

CAFE is keen to hear of the experiences of all disabled fans at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. If you attend a match, please complete the CAFE Matchday Evaluation Feedback form and send across any photos or videos that you may have taken. Please email [email protected] or call +44 (0)203 355 9867 if you have any questions or require further information.

Published 19/7/2023