Image courtesy of Getty
Disability;
an overview
hey may not be household names like Fabio
T
Capello and his England squad but The FA’s
national disability teams will be in the
spotlight this month when both the Blind and
Cerebral Palsy sides travel to Beijing for the
Paralympics.
The two sides are just the tip of the iceberg when it
comes to The FA’s disability football programme with
Soho Square running regular teams for Deaf Men &
Women, Learning Disability, Partially Sighted and
Amputees.
Jeff Davis, The FA’s National Disability Development
Manager, believes that both the Blind and CP squads
will give a good account of themselves in China: "Both
squads have a massive challenge ahead because Great
Britain Football hasn’t competed in the Games for some
time and has little experience.
“However, I’m confident that they are well prepared
and will be able to perform at the highest level."
Britain’s most experienced Blind squad member is 37-
year-old Dave Clarke. Dave represented Britain at the
Paralympics in 1996 as part of the Goalball team and
his first game in Beijing will mark his 100th
international football cap.
England’s Learning Disability squad are no strangers
to success either, lifting the World Cup with a 2-1 win
over Holland in Yokohama six years ago and picking up
a Gold medal at the Global Games in 2004.
Looking forward and the profile of the Disability game
is set for a big boost with the near completion of a new
£21m Football Academy for the Blind and Visually
Impaired in Hereford.
“The FA has done a great job with Disability Football
and we’re in a much better position now than we were
in 2000,” said Davis who has seen a 200% rise in
participation over the last five years.
“Hopefully, by the 2009/10
season, we’ll have a number of
County Leagues in operation
which will give all disabled
players a chance to play football
locally.”
Image courtesy of The FA
32 SPORT IQ 14-16 : SEPTEMBER 2008