THIS year marked the tenth anniversary since the Worcestershire Disability Football Club was created.
To mark the occasion, Observer chief reporter Jonny Bonell spoke to the club’s vice chairman to gauge just how successful it has been and what the future holds for disability sport.
WHEN Derek Cunningham MBE and David Alban were approached by the Worcestershire FA in 2004 with a view to taking up a new Ability Counts football project – which helps form the pathway to the England disability teams – they jumped at the chance.
The pair of Malvern dads, who both have ‘football-mad’ sons with disabilities, put their heads together and launched Worcestershire DFC, one of the first of its kind in the area.
“David and I are the types of guys who make sure things happen and we will keep doing that,” Derek, vice chairman of the club, said. “We have a track record of making things happen so we were pretty sure it would go well.
“But the reason this club has been successful is entirely down to the efforts of our players and the people who supported them at home and got them to the games.”
The club is now a permanent fixture in the Three Counties Ability Counts League – which includes teams from Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire – and has fielded more than 160 members since its creation.
But despite the progress, Derek, who is also chairman of the league’s committee, said there were still numerous barriers which they needed to overcome.
“Uptake is extremely slow and we don’t fully understand why there is such a difference between participation in disability football compared to the mainstream game,” Derek added.
“In the mainstream game there are waiting lists to join clubs but we have somehow not quite achieved that level, so we are looking to overcome the barriers that exist.
“Everybody we see here is a real champion. They start from difficult beginnings and blossom at the club.
“Every one of my team members is a wonder to behold in the way they grow and develop in their own esteem, physical ability and confidence.”
Worcestershire DFC was brought to FA Charter Standard within its first year and has since gone on to collect a host of awards, including Inclusive Project of the Year at the recent Malvern Hills Community Sports Awards. Derek and David also picked up a runners up certificate in the Unsung Hero category at the ceremony.
To mark ten years, the pair are also working on a set of collaborative events to provide more services for disability sport in the area and put it ‘high up on the pedestal’.
“These ten years have been magnificent,” Derek said. “Our drive for the last ten years has been to get more participation from young people in disability football.
“There is a great tendency for people with disability not to want to participate as much as their able-bodied colleagues and we want to provide as close to mainstream football as we are able to get.
“I could only highly recommend anyone who doesn’t take part in active sport to give it a try because you never know where it might lead.”
The club’s season starts on Sunday, September 6, with training every Sunday from 10.30 to midday at the University of Worcester.
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