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31 Jan 2023 5:11

This is Pan-Disability Football


Find out more about the largest disability-specific football pathway in England.

How to get involved in Pan-Disability Football

From a kick-about in the park to playing for England. There are now more opportunities than ever for disabled people to get involved in football. Most competition-based opportunities in England play this format, making it the largest disability-specific football pathway. Within pan-disability football there are opportunities to take part in casual opportunities and through more formal club and league-based football.

Use the Find Football tool to discover your local casual and club based pan-disability football opportunities.

If you cannot find a suitable playing opportunity or would like to speak to someone, please contact your local County FA.

Casual Opportunities

Casual playing opportunities exist within the disability pathway to make it easier than ever to get involved. The FA’s National Participation programmes are listed below and are inclusive for disabled people to participate. Disability specific sessions also exist within each of these programmes if a non-disability session is not for you.

Weetabix Wildcats

Weetabix Wildcats is non-competitive football for girls aged 5-11 who want to give it a go for the very first time or want to play with other girls their own age. Most importantly, Weetabix Wildcats is all about having loads of fun and meeting new amazing friends. To find out more click here.

Comets

Comets is a recreational, pan-disability football programme for disabled boys and girls aged between 5 and 11. It provides a safe space for disabled children to play football and offers a new, flexible and inclusive way of playing. It's football that breaks the old rules and replaces them with a brand new one: JUST BE YOU. To find out more, click here.

Squad Girls' Football

Squad Girls' Football provides girls aged 12-14 with the opportunity to play football their way. Sessions focus on having fun, making friends and developing core skills such as leadership and confidence. To find out more, click here.

Just Play

Just Play is for men and women of all abilities aged 16+ that just want to play football. There’s no need to join a team, play in a league or commit to training in all weathers. Just book online and turn up for a kick about. To find out more click here

Other disability specific casual opportunities exist across the country for boys aged 5-16 and girls aged 12-16. To find these sessions please use the Find Football tool.

Club Opportunities

Pan-Disability Football

Pan-disability teams allow players with a broad spectrum of impairments and health conditions to play together. There are now over 2000 affiliated disability teams within England. These teams provide an environment in which players can play competitively on a regular basis.

Pan-disability Leagues form the foundation of the disability competition structure and there is now a network of over 40 localised pan-disability leagues across England.

In general, these leagues are small sided in format (usually). In junior disability football, there's a maximum age banding of four years, usually U8, U12 and U16. No-one under the age of 16 can play in adult pan-disability football. Where no female-specific opportunities exist, FA dispensation is available for mixed-gender competitions at adult ages. Where team numbers permit, the leagues adopt the principle of ‘ability banding’ to ensure there are opportunities for everyone to get involved. For more information about your local league please contact your County FA.

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