The FA Disability Cup begins in earnest this Sunday with the opening round focusing on Cerebral Palsy football.
Defending champions, CP United Senior will join CP United Development, Riverside FC and Copmanthorpe FC, in the Northern section of the National Cerebral Palsy Football League, at Keele University, Staffordshire.
The winners take on Chelsea at The FA Disability Cup Finals Day on Saturday 6 May at St Georges’ Park, who have already qualified from the Southern Section of the league.
Since The FA hosted the Cerebral Palsy World Cup in 2015, this code continues to go from strength to strength, providing from grassroots through to a full England international team specifically for players with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders, such as stroke and traumatic brain injury.
The national Cerebral Palsy league was established prior to the 2015/16 season through a partnership between The FA and CP Sport. The league now consists of a north conference and a south conference, with a total of nine adult teams.
There are exciting plans to expand the league with a number of new teams being lined up to join next season.
This weekend’s games will feature the likes of CP United’s Aaron Kinnear, who started playing a mere 18 months ago and is now a regular member of the England National Development Squad.
Others are seeing the progression from playing to management, such as Copmanthorpe gaffer, Simon Kearney.
CP United’s summer trip to Barcelona to compete in the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) tournament against domestic as well as international teams is just one example of the traction CP football is now getting across the globe.
Games will start at 12pm. To keep up with the event on Twitter please follow @league_cp as well as @FA.
For more information about The FA Disability Cup and the wider opportunities available within disability football please visit www.thefa.com/disability
