Great turn-out for Foundation event
AFC Wimbledon Foundation are aiming to make a new league for people with disabilities bigger and better after yesterday’s successful launch.
Held in conjunction with Tooting & Mitcham FC, the new Inclusive Football Adult League (for 16-plus years) attracted 70 people with 11 teams taking part.
They included the Fulham Foundation Down Syndrome team (DS Badgers) and the event was attended by footballers from the women’s Great Britain Deaflympics football squad.
Emma O'Connor, Sports Development Officer at AFC Wimbledon Foundation, said: “We are going to be running the Inclusive Adult League once a month and we had 11 teams from all around South London at yesterday’s first one. We had three different leagues based on abilities. The best thing was that half the teams were not actually from football clubs, including St George’s NHS Unit.
“I always think that football clubs can do more and we hope this will continually grow during the summer. Hopefully, it becomes successful enough during June and July to allow us to run it for the whole of next season. It was great to have members of the GB Deaflympics squad at the event yesterday. The AFC Wimbledon Foundation thanks them for their support and we wish them well in the Deaflympics 2017.”
Click on the link above for a video interview with WDON's Rob Cornell chatting to Emma, who talks about the great work of our Foundation during the summer.
The next date for the Inclusive Adult League is on 18th June 2017 (between 12 noon and 4.00 pm).
E-mail Emma at emma.oconnor@afcwimbledonfoundation.org.uk for more information.
Below are more details about the league:
Venue: Tooting and Mitcham FC, Imperial Fields, Bishopsford Rd, Morden SM4 6BF
Team Layout: 5-a-side (no max player squad size)
League entry: This league is for all players with a disability such as mental health, physical disability, learning disability, Visual impaired, deaf or hearing impaired, etc.
Surface: 3G pitch
Footwear & Kit: Trainers and football astros. No football boots. Please bring shin pads.
Next league dates: 18th June 2017 and 16th July 2017.
To book your team entry or individual entry, please link on the Eventbrite website and select which playing level; Blue, Yellow and Green.
The colour ability levels are explain below:
Blue level - players able to cope physically, good levels of spatial awareness, excellent ability to understand tactics and good level of physical strength and fitness.
Yellow level- players would be mobile, have spatial and tactical awareness, knowledge of the laws of the game and have a good level of fitness.
Green level - Players would have limited mobility, spatial awareness and fitness.