I was involved in this project for 9 months.

From July 2023 to April 2024

🧭 Context

Sportian is a Spanish tech company formerly known as LaLigaTech. Initially focused on managing the digital presence of second-division football teams in LaLiga, it later expanded its vision to serve any sports league with similar needs—ranging from football to rugby, even freestyle rap competitions.

In 2023, as part of its repositioning, the company set out to elevate its CMS platform and align it with modern accessibility standards. With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) approaching enforcement, the need to ensure compliance and build inclusive products became urgent.

I joined the project as an Accessibility Specialist, working through a consulting firm that had recently acquired a stake in the company. My role was to introduce accessibility as a long-term practice—not a plugin, nor a checklist, but a design and development mindset.

🎯 Tasks

As Accessibility Specialist, my responsibilities included:

• Performing manual and automated accessibility audits for over 18 live websites, including teams like RCD Mallorca, Deportivo Alavés, Villarreal CF, and Getafe CF.

• Proposing CMS features that would empower team admins to create accessible content without third-party overlays like UserWay.

• Leading training sessions for Designers, Developers, QA, and Product Owners to embed accessibility into everyday workflows.

• Defining accessibility annotation standards in Figma, focusing on keyboard navigation, screen reader structures, and alt text.

• Creating internal systems to track defects, test progress, and validate fixes against WCAG 2.2 AA criteria.

🛠️ Actions

During this engagement, I worked across teams to build clarity, capability, and momentum around accessibility:

• We ran manual audits using VoiceOver, keyboard navigation, and semantic analysis—complemented by automated tests (Lighthouse, Axe, WAVE) and accessibility-focused code inspection.

• I created standard Figma templates for accessibility annotations, helping Designers hand off clear navigation, hierarchy, and interaction specs to Developers.

• We facilitated cross-team workshops and 1:1 guidance, gradually turning accessibility into a shared interest. QA engineers began testing with screen readers. Developers initiated internal discussions about semantic HTML. Designers adopted best practices in their UI files.

• I maintained a centralized log of accessibility defects, including severity levels and remediation status, to support prioritization and learning.

✅ Results

• Teams across Design, Dev, and QA moved from zero knowledge to active engagement, with team leads independently exploring tools, resources, and improvements.

• Accessibility annotations became part of the design delivery process, and basic WCAG validations were introduced into QA routines.

• Development began experimenting with semantic HTML and better markup structures in response to audit findings.

• While management remained cautious and occasionally leaned toward external quick-fix solutions, the technical culture shifted—embracing accessibility as a sign of craftsmanship and future readiness.

• Due to internal restructuring, the formal accessibility program lost priority—but the foundation was set, and the conversation was kept alive.

My contribution at Sportian wasn’t a complete rollout—it was a strategic start.
We planted the seed for accessibility to take root and grow, team by team.

In a digital world where quality and inclusion are no longer separate, accessibility isn’t a feature.
It’s how you build for the long run.