Cadbury has continued their partnership with London juggernauts Arsenal FC, as the official snack partner for the club.
The partnership, now entering its fourth season running, initially began in August 2020 and aims to target a local British audience, with a focus on community.
A partnership between Arsenal and British Sign Language (BSL), has also been integrated into this deal, with BSL aiding and promoting deaf awareness at Arsenal home matches, as well as Cadbury’s ‘Fingers’ snack being tied into BSL initiatives to promote education and inclusion through sign language, with the slogan ‘sign with fingers, big and small’.
Cadbury have also had history with National Deaf Children’s Society, in which a greater understanding of deaf people’s social interaction and football matchday experience was understood. Arsenal & Cadbury are committed to make a change, with matchday programmes at Emirates Stadium to include BSL education, and overall deaf awareness, to ensure greater inclusion for the deaf football community.
Cadbury are also branching into the promotion of women’s football, on the back of the Arsenal women’s successful runs in the Women’s Super League, and the UEFA Champions League. Cadbury and Arsenal plan to enter local communities, to help grow the women’s game at a grassroots level, and give female coaches the opportunity to develop their skills to continue to grow the women’s game in England.
In a video posted to Arsenal’s YouTube channel signifying the extension of this partnership, Arsenal legend Ian Wright shed light on the difficulties and exclusion that deaf fans experience on a matchday, in what Wright describes ‘things we take for granted’. The simple things, such like as conferences, player interviews.
Arsenal have teamed up with lifelong fans, Christopher, and Max, to ensure that the club are doing all that they can to provide a welcoming and inclusive matchday experience for deaf fans, this includes having interpreters on camera when interviews are being done, ensuring that deaf fans can hear from their favourite players in live time.
Arsenal have been at the forefront of inclusion on all fronts and are the first Premier League team to have pitch side interpreters for their deaf audience members, in what Christopher and Max hope, sets a precedent for the rest of the Premier League. In 2018, Arsene Wenger left the club after 22 years of service, but with no interpreters, Arsenal’s deaf audience felt left out of the conversation.
Arsenal and their players look to provide more deaf-inclusive facilities within the Emirates Stadium, with sign language interpreters, and graphics on screens for both dead and non-deaf individuals. Nick Rogers from Mondelez International said via Arsenal’s media release; “Cadbury are dedicated to fostering inclusivity in the game, and we are proud to have incorporated British Sign Language… emphasising the importance of including everyone in the conversation.”
Both Cadbury and Arsenal are giant British brands with a weighted history of inclusion and diversity, with people from differ racial, gender, and disability groups all welcome at the Emirates. This partnership looks to continue to build upon the ongoing community projects that Arsenal & Cadbury share, and now with BSL, to ensure that no one is left out of the conversation.
