Melissa Stevens has successfully raised over $5,000 to bring her terminally ill husband to a FIFA World Cup match in Vancouver. However, despite the ongoing tournament at B.C. Place, the Langley resident is still struggling to secure wheelchair-accessible tickets.
Carlo Sutton, Stevens’ husband, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in June 2025, a progressive neurodegenerative condition affecting motor neurons crucial for movement control in the brain and spinal cord. As ALS advances, individuals lose basic functions like walking, talking, swallowing, and breathing.
“Everything happened suddenly for us,” shared Melissa. “My husband, a passionate soccer player all his life, was deeply affected.”
With Sutton’s birthday falling on June 29, Stevens aims to gift him a World Cup match experience at B.C. Place, tailored to his soccer enthusiasm. However, navigating FIFA’s process for acquiring accessible tickets has proven to be frustrating.
“I’ve attempted to fill out FIFA’s accessible ticket request form multiple times without any response,” Stevens expressed. “Purchasing tickets for wheelchair users is needlessly complicated compared to regular ticket purchases.”
Stevens isn’t alone in facing challenges securing accessible tickets. Burnaby resident Michael Rosetti, living with cerebral palsy, shared his struggle of obtaining suitable seating arrangements for the Australia-Turkey match at B.C. Place. Despite securing tickets for himself and an attendant, the seats were inconveniently placed apart, hindering his essential support needs.
While FIFA’s policy guarantees companion seating proximity to accessible ticket holders, the exact placement isn’t assured, making it challenging for individuals like Rosetti, requiring medical assistance and aid for various tasks.
Advocates, including Michelle Hewitt from Disability Without Poverty, emphasize the necessity of companion seating not being treated akin to regular tickets, citing the financial burden on disabled individuals when attending events.
Jocelyn Maffin from Spinal Cord Injury B.C. raised concerns over the unclear process of securing accessible FIFA tickets, highlighting the need for a transparent plan to allocate seats to those necessitating special accommodations.
Stevens, who halted work to care for her husband, resorted to fundraising to afford FIFA tickets, facing exorbitant resale prices for wheelchair-accessible seats. Despite exploring alternate ticket options in Seattle, the logistics weren’t feasible for the couple.
B.C. Place, the venue hosting the games, acknowledged the need for improvement in providing adequate accessible seating, acknowledging the disparity between available seats and the disabled population in Canada.
In response, FIFA stated that accessible tickets have been available since September 2025, with over 30,000 sold to date. The federation encouraged fans to monitor primary and resale ticket platforms for availability, promising to address Stevens’ unanswered requests through their customer care team.
Stevens remains puzzled by the scarcity of accessible seating options, questioning whether concerns about disrupting the event atmosphere overshadow the needs of disabled fans like her husband, whose passion for the sport equals or surpasses that of others in attendance.