The threat of abuse is a barrier to more disabled fans attending sporting events than ever before, a new report says.

The proportion of fans who see disability abuse as a barrier is at its highest level (8.5%) in the four years since the charity Level Playing Field has conducted its annual survey.

Nonetheless, this year’s survey received a record number of respondents, with 2,055 responses received from 1,924 fans, some of whom provided responses for more than one team they follow.

Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out’s latest annual report for 2023-24 found a 35% increase in reports of ableist abuse compared with the previous season.

Level Playing Field 2024 data released on Tuesday afternoon found that for 26% of respondents, the attitude of others was the second biggest barrier to attending an event.

The report states: “Clubs should ensure that there is a clear process for fans to report any disability discrimination they experience on matchdays and that fans understand this process. All reports should be taken seriously, investigated and responded to. Administrators should receive appropriate Training to recognize and act on any disability abuse.”

The report examines a range of issues related to the live sports experience for fans with disabilities.

One in five respondents said they would benefit from the option of paying cash at the venue, while more than a quarter (26.5%) said they would benefit from having physical tickets.

Nearly half of respondents (47%) said they watch games most weeks, a 2% increase from the number who gave the same answer in 2023.

However, the number of people who said they watch sports once or twice a month fell by 4%, from 34% to 30%, so the proportion of supporters who regularly watch live sports is still down slightly overall.

Physical access to stadiums is the most frequently cited barrier to spectator attendance (mentioned by 33% of respondents), but cost concerns are the barrier that has increased the most this year, by 5.5% to 22.5%.

24.5% of the respondents mentioned difficulties in purchasing tickets, and 24% expressed anxiety or lack of confidence.

22% said they were unable to attend a sporting event or venue because of a lack of access, the lowest share in four years of the survey.

Tony Taylor, chairman of the Level Playing Field Committee, said in the report: “The key positive trend revealed by the results is that the proportion of disabled fans who feel unable to attend any sporting event or sports venue due to lack of access has fallen year-on-year.” .

“The small decline in 2024 is very encouraging, following a significant decline the previous year. However, it remains completely unacceptable that more than one in five disabled sports fans are unable to attend certain events due to a lack of transport.”

71% said accessibility affected the time it took them to arrive and leave the venue. More than half of them said they arrived one to two hours before the game started, and more than a quarter left 15 to 5 minutes before the game ended.

More than two-thirds cited fear of crowds as the main reason for arriving and leaving early.

“In some cases, improved facilities will help alleviate these issues, but it is clear that changing the attitudes of other supporters and implementing effective management will significantly improve the accessibility of the event,” the report said.

The report found that ratings of venue accessibility in England and Wales were generally similar to the first report in 2021, with respondents asked to rank between “non-existent”, “very poor”, “poor”, “adequate”, ” Good’, ‘Very good’, ‘Excellent’ and ‘Don’t know’.

One in five disabled fans felt their interaction with stewards was inadequate. Ratings in 2024 will be “significantly worse” than in 2023, the report said.