As thousands of Arsenal supporters descend on Bucharest for tonight’s UEFA Champions League Final, many will spend upwards of £3,000 (€3,500) on flights, hotels, tickets, food, and travel.

They will not be alone. Thousands of Paris Saint-Germain supporters will also make the journey, turning the city into a truly international gathering of football fans united by a shared passion for sport.

For most fans, it will be money well spent.

Football is about passion. It is about belonging. It is about being there when history is made.

Nobody questions their decision.

Nobody asks why they are spending so much money.

Nobody suggests they should stay at home and watch it on television.

Because people understand that sport matters.

Yet at the very same time, Deaf athletes selected to represent Great Britain at the Deaflympics are being asked a very different question.

“Why do you need financial support?”

The contrast is striking.

Tonight, thousands of supporters will spend thousands of pounds to watch elite athletes compete.

Meanwhile, Deaf athletes who have earned the right to compete on the international stage are fundraising simply to get there.

Many members of the public are surprised when they learn that Deaflympians often face significant personal costs to represent their country. The common assumption is that athletes competing for Great Britain are fully funded.

The reality can be very different.

For many athletes across Team DeaflympicsGB, the cost of participation can reach around £4,000 (€4,700) per person once travel, accommodation, preparation, equipment, insurance, and team costs are considered.

These athletes are not spectators.

They are not attending for entertainment.

They are representing their country against the world’s best Deaf athletes.

Like every elite competitor, they have spent years training, sacrificing family time, balancing employment, education, and other commitments, and funding their own development to reach this point.

Many Deaflympic athletes are also young people on low incomes. For some, the financial burden is so significant that they make the heartbreaking decision not to attend the Deaflympic Games at all, despite earning selection through their performances.

The question therefore is not whether Deaf athletes should be fundraising.

The question is why they have to.

Sport has the power to inspire communities, challenge perceptions, and create opportunities for future generations. When Deaf athletes stand on an international stage, they are doing far more than competing for medals. They are demonstrating what is possible for young Deaf people who may never have seen someone like themselves wearing a Great Britain shirt.

Most football supporters would probably agree with that.

Many would likely be shocked to discover that athletes representing their country still face such barriers.

After all, if society can understand why someone might spend £3,000 (€3,500) to witness sporting history, surely it can understand why athletes representing Great Britain deserve support to make sporting history themselves.

The #FairPlayForDeafAthletes campaign is not about asking for sympathy.

It is about asking for fairness.

Because no athlete should have to wonder whether they can afford to represent their country after they have already earned the right to be there.