A NEW season of the Gloucestershire FA Ability Counts League is underway – and organisers believe it will again provide a perfect platform for young people with physical, sensory and learning difficulties to shine on the pitch and in their communities.
The 2015-16 series of six stand-alone tournaments staged on the 3G surfaces at the GFA’s Almondsbury HQ and All Saints Academy facility recently kicked off at the latter’s Cheltenham venue, with a view to unearthing overall winners in each of three divisions at the conclusion of what promises to be another exciting campaign.
Featuring more prominently than ever are Sofab Sports, who have unleashed no fewer than FIVE teams representing community club Abbeymead Rovers into the fray, together with Cinderford-based SF Forest and, new to the competition this year, an SF Deaf side who are out to demonstrate that hearing impairments need not be a barrier when it comes to full-on football activity.
Sofab founder Chris Rawlins enthused: “The league is a massive plus for the players because for many it offers an only opportunity to play competitive sport, which in itself improves health and wellbeing of individuals and ultimately provides big benefits to the taxpayer.
“While we provide seven teams of our own, the rest of the league is made up of professional sides with outreach elements to them like Bristol Rovers and Cheltenham Town, and colleges such as Star College (Cheltenham) and Gloucestershire College.
“The league is designed to cater for anybody with physical, sensory or learning disabilities, regardless of how mild or severe they may be. For example the top division, the Championship, is seven-a-side and a good standard for players who may even be able to play mainstream football, while Division Two is, like the first division, a five-a-side format.
“We now have a deaf team involved in the GFA Ability Counts League which will prove a challenge for referees too, so it’s a full spectrum; if you can walk, you can play, and we even have a mental health/homeless team from Stroud joining the league this year called OPENhouse.”
Meanwhile, the Sofab and Abbeymead sides are looking for good things this time around too, Rovers having claimed runners-up spot behind Cheltenham Town in last season’s Championship shake-up, while their ‘B’ team won League One and their ‘C’ and ‘D’ charges finished first and second respectively in Division Two. Sofab will be eager to take promising end-of-season form into this year’s competition, which finishes on May 8 at Oaklands Park.
Rawlins, who witnessed 55 players from the Sofab and Abbeymead set-ups performing at the GFA’s opening tournament of the campaign at All Saints Academy, acknowledged: “The standard of players on show is getting better and better. Their understanding of the game is improving, many are preparing properly well before the season starts, and the stigma attached to disability sport is being broken.”
Sofab, a community interest company which provides vocational and employment opportunities in sports-related industries for youngsters with physical and learning difficulties, was founded by Rawlins with the help of his 18-year-old son Dale Rawlins, who is now head coach.
Much more information about Sofab can be found on their website, www.sofabsports.org.uk
For more details about the GFA Ability Counts League and disability football in the county, contact GFA Football Development Officer Jason Lee on 01454 615888 (option 3) or email him at Jason.Lee@GloucestershireFA.com
He said: “We’re excited about the rest of the season and have had more teams than ever – 20 - taking part, which is great news.”