Today we are speaking to Paul Jubb.

SYACL: Paul, you’ve recently stepped down from your role as a senior coach at Bradford City Community Foundation. Please tell us about your history in football and with the Bantams?

PJ: Like most kids I always wanted to be a professional footballer and I spent most of my childhood playing football at Bradford Moor Park. At 16 my mates and I decided to join the local floodlit league and I ended up being the player/coach/manager for the team!
I was a builder but always played football at the weekends, just for local pub teams but always enjoyed the friendships that football brings.

I retired from playing due to injury and having kids of my own, I took my son Adam to the local junior team Wyke Wanderers and volunteered to help coach one of the under 7’s teams. 

Then after losing my building job because of the recession/shortage of work I saw an advertisement in the local jobcentre for a community football coach at Bradford City [we were in the Premiership at the time].
Luckily Ian ‘sticks’ Ormondroyd an ex-City player & legend, decided to give me the job.

SYACL: Looking back on your career with the Foundation, what are your favourite memories and what have been your proudest moments?

PJ: Obviously, my work in disability football, although I like to think I’ve made a lot of mainstream kids happy when I coached them too. I have always tried to make my sessions fun and enjoyable and I like to make sure that everyone gets a fair chance to play whatever their ability or disability.
I used to get kids calling me ‘small/tall Paul’ and I’ll always be known for getting the kids singing “who let the dogs out” when we were warming up to play.

I used to do lunch time clubs and after school clubs at Primary Schools; I think I must have worked in every school in Bradford. We also did penalty shootouts with Billy Bantam & soccer camps in the school holidays! 

I have done projects for ex-war veterans and various gents clubs, taking them out for day trips and giving them something to look forward to.

I’ve coached mental health players at Mind and even got them into the West Riding disability league and they got to play on the pitch at Valley Parade at half-time.

I like to think I’ve made a difference to a lot of different peoples’ lives for the better and there’s no better feeling than that! 

Winning the BBC’s Unsung Hero for Yorkshire in 2015 and appearing on Sports Personality of the Year were my proudest moments by far.
The previous year I won Unsung Hero at Bradford City AFC player of the year awards, among various other awards.

SYACL: Tell us a little about Bradford City’s Disability teams and how you became involved with them?

PJ: I was asked by Ian Ormondroyd if I would be interested in coaching at Bradford Disability Football club on a Sunday morning. I’d already started coaching in disability schools across Bradford and thought it would be good to volunteer for them. I was made head coach and did some amazing things with the club.

We went to Hamm in Germany most years and we even played the German National disability team in front of 3,000 school kids. Ok, so we lost 22-0 but the smiles on our players faces when they received their medals, you would have thought we had won 22-0!

We played in the Special Olympics at Leicester representing Yorkshire and Humberside where we won silver and bronze medals and I won the Managers fair play award.

We reached the finals of the 1st ever FA People’s Cup in Manchester and we won lots of League titles in the West Riding Ability Counts Leagues.

We took the juniors all over the country; we played Liverpool, Chelsea Man Utd disability team’s  and played regularly on the pitch at Valley Parade. The players loved it; it was as exciting as Wembley to them

I spent 16 years with them and we did so many amazing things, but I always wanted to do more……

So, I set up Bradford City Disability FC in 2017, with the help of Jaimie Dorward and our group of volunteers. I have always loved being part of the Bantams family as it is called.
The players love to wear the same kit as their hero’s at Bradford City, even players who are not City fans wear it and have a soft spot for the club.

We have grown so fast in such a short space of time. We have 7 adult teams including 2 women’s only teams; an Under 16 team and 3 under 12’s teams. We even have an 11-a-side deaf team now in the National Deaf League.

Our ladies’ team have reached the FA Peoples Cup Final twice.

Our Under 16’s made the semi-finals twice too.

We take teams to Rigtersbleek in Holland every year and play in various tournaments throughout the country. 

We won the Under 16’s Chelsea AFC tournament & the adults played on the pitch at Stamford bridge!

Our Claret team won the treble last season in the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League.

The Diamond’s won the 5-a-side Championship the season before and the Blue’s won the 7-a-side League.

The list is long and will go on, I’m sure. 

Someone once said to me disability football is your life because you haven’t got a life!

But being part of disability football is the best life anyone could wish for!

SYACL:  As an experienced and respected coach, what do you think are the most important factors in coaching disability footballers?

PJ: The other week I had a call from a team in Cameroon, they wanted to send a couple of young coaches to learn how to coach disabled footballers. I was obviously flattered that they asked me, but I told them there’s nothing special about coaching disabled footballers.

Yes, you have to have a lot of patience and compassion for your players but, every player disabled or not has different needs.

Every football team in the world is the same, all the players have different abilities and qualities, even professional teams are mixed ability.

The FA teach us to assess the needs of each individual and allow for that in the sessions. For example, the higher ability players will shoot from further away or with their weaker foot; and lower ability players might need to shoot closer or with no goalkeeper. Any good coach will naturally do this. The main thing is that the players enjoy themselves and want to come back the week after.

SYACL:  You’ve achieved so much in the game. Do you have any more targets in your mind?

PJ: I am always wanting to start new projects.
I would like to start a junior deaf team or a Down Syndrome only team and maybe walking football teams.

I can’t wait until life gets back to normal and we can take our players on trips and tournaments again and go back to Holland.

We can restart our social events, presentation nights, Halloween, Birthday & Christmas parties etc.

Watching Bradford City home and away as a group.

Like I said, “disability football is my life and I miss it”.

SYACL: What would you say to anyone thinking about getting involved with the SYACL?

PJ: We entered the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League 3 years ago; it’s run by Mike Stylianou & Darren Warner and all the teams have been great with us! 

We have made lots of friends and always look forward to the League games and Cup competitions. We have won a few Leagues and Cups, but we have also lost a few finals and come bottom of a few too!!

The League is well organised, all the players have to prove their disability; the teams play at their own levels and use the right facilities for the appropriate teams.

The higher levels play 7-a-side on bigger open pitches, while the lower levels play at Goals Soccer Centre’s pitches. Because the pitches are enclosed this ensures that the ball stays in play most, if not all of the time, giving the players a chance to get plenty of touches.

I would definitely recommend it, as I said before Mike and Darren are great people, all the teams are friendly and the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League has football for every level of disability football.

Anyone interested in being part of our amazing club check out our Website/Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/bcafcdisability

https://southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com/

As already mentioned at our Zoom meeting on Monday, we are asking all teams to meet outside the pitch area in the car park; and not go into the main building reception area @ Concord Sports Centre on arrival.

We will collect the team lists of names & contact numbers from your lead person, so no QR scan codes will need to be used.

We are discouraging all our league members from using the front of the main building and only to use the toilets at the back , next to the car park facing the pitches.

Please do not assume any changes to our requests, the league will always inform you all of any changes to our match day requirements.

This is to be passed onto all your Club participants.

A fixtures page has now been added to our site.

All fixtures will be subject to the Covid-19 regulations ON THE DAY.

Please check the fixture page on the day, before travelling, as all Covid-19 regulations can change on a daily basis.

We will update the status of matches on/off on the fixture page on the day of matches.

We are sorry about all the organisational stuff, but I am sure you all want your child to be safe. We are certain that if we all follow the guidelines, that the venues have put in place, and the extra provisions we as a League have put in place, we can make the afternoon as safe as possible.

A signup sheet must be provided by each club to Mike or Colin on check-in at the venue on Sunday, this is the document we propose to use below.

A template will be sent to each club in order that you can come to the venue with the information already filled in.

You’ll note that it has space for email and mobile number as well as name.

We don’t require both but we must have a mobile number as a very minimum.

We will destroy this information after 14 days, which means we will require a new sheet for every matchday.

Colin will bring spare copies in case you guys lose one or forget, but it is obviously the responsibility of team officials to ensure that the information is complete, so run yourself off a copy or two for use on the day. We’ll provide a plastic wallet to retain them confidentially.

Move over to our Covid-19 page to read the rules and regulations that are in place at our venue or click here: https://southyorkshireabilitycountsleague.com/covid-19-latest-updates/

Today we are speaking to young coach Jack Larissey.

SYACL: We asked him to tell us a little about himself – including anything that might surprise some people, and what aspects of football he is involved in now.

JL: I am 20 years old and live in Herringthorpe Rotherham; after attending St Bernard’s Catholic High School I moved  on to an apprenticeship with Rotherham United Community Sports Trust where I learnt about disability football.

I love watching, playing and coaching football as its something I am passionate about and I make sure that I give the best of my ability in everything I do. I support Sheffield United as they are the only team in Yorkshire.

I have been working for Social Eyes day service for adults with learning difficulties including autism for over a year now as a carer/sports coach, which again is a new experience for me as I am involved in many different activities and not just sport. Although a challenge I am loving the involvement and it is shaping my development as a young  person.

I was initially unsure about coaching in disability football, as it was totally new to me and something I thought I didn’t want to carry on doing. However in my 2^nd year I felt like I gained confidence in my coaching; I learnt patience and built strong relationships with players and parents; which after each session I did, I would come away thinking – I have done good for others.

SYACL: How long have you been involved with football in general (RUCST included) and with Disability football in particular?

JL: I have been involved with football since I was 12, playing through the Junior Leagues with Rotherham Town and then becoming a referee from 16-18 years age, as a little earner. At 18 I joined Swallownest U’21s for a year before joining the Royal Oak team based in the Imperial League, for which team I am still playing.

I was with RUCST for 3 years before having the opportunity to come and work for Social Eyes, which has been one of my best decisions in my life in terms of my development.

I have been a part of coaching disability football from 16 and I have learnt what I know  from my former colleague and friend Jack Pitchford.

SYACL: How long have you been involved in coaching?

JL: At 15 I was helping my dad run his football team, so I would say I have been involved in coaching for over 6 years now.

SYACL: What are the major differences to coaching disability footballers; and are there any special techniques or routines that you use?

JL: Patience in abundance is needed as you may have to repeat yourself many times to get the message over; with many repetitive demonstrations. Also I aim to keep the sessions basic and not over complicated; and make sure that they are fun based. As regards to the techniques and routines, I try to keep what I say short and sweet when it comes to explaining the pathway of each session. We begin each session with laying down the ground rules on how the session is expected to progress, e.g. especially behaviour wise.

SYACL: What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming involved in disability football?

I would say it’s a great thing to get involved in as you are helping others to achieve, which is up there with one of the best things you can do as a human being. If it’s your first time getting involved in a disability team, set your rules in place, stock up on patience because in the long run it will all be worth it.

SYACL: What are your ongoing ambitions for the years ahead.

JL: I am hoping to one day maybe go abroad for a year to experience disability football out in the wider world and get involved with other teams. After gaining more coaching hours under my belt, I will apply for my UEFA B to widen my knowledge as a coach and use the ideas involved to progress my disability team. I want to keep moving forward and widening my knowledge of the game  and become the best person I can.

Today we are talking to Jack Pitchford.

SYACL: We started by asking him to tell us a little about himself; including anything that might surprise some people, and what he is doing now.

JP: I’m currently working at an SEN school in Rotherham where I have been since I left RUCST in 2018. It’s an amazing school which puts the kids first; and also helps in building relationships with young people who haven’t had a fair start at life, which is very rewarding.

SYACL: How long have you been involved with football in general (RUCST included) and with Disability football in particular?

JP: I’ve always been involved in football from as young as I can remember, my brother and I spent hours of our childhood kicking a ball on our local park with our mates. As a kid I played in goal for my local Sunday league team, however due to my hearing loss I was eligible to play disability football in the Junior Disability League. From the age of 11 I went to Steve Adam’s session every Sunday afternoon (usually running off the pitch to my dad’s car straight after my Sunday league game to get to training on time) where Steve and his amazing team Dawn Wood, Russ Ingram and Gibbo made me enjoy football and opened many doors for me in the sport. When I turned 16 I played a season for the Derek Dooley team who were in the top league of the Ability Counts League and we had a very strong, young group who loved playing for Steve and Dawn.

Steve Adams made me love coaching; seeing how much he enjoyed it, and how much he made me enjoy his sessions. It inspired me to do the same when I was in my last few years of Comp. During year 11 I decided I wanted to become a football coach so I applied to be an apprentice at RUCST where I gained my level 2 qualification in coaching football when I was 17 and had my first experience of working in SEN schools.

One week I was asked by a coach at RUCST to help out at their disability football session at Wickersley School on the Saturday morning. I started coaching the younger players, but I remember feeling very annoyed that we only had 5 or 6 players there. This gave me the drive to improve the amount of kids we had accessing our session in Rotherham as I wanted to set up a specific pathway from under 12’s to under 16s and adults football at RUCST.

After a few years at Rotherham we had successfully grown the club, having two under 12 teams, an under 16s team and two adults teams playing in the SYACL.

I was also very fortunate to meet Claire Hobson during my time at Rotherham, we’d met during her days at Oaks Days Centre and she got in touch about setting up a football team at Social Eyes. We worked with Sam Firth at SHCFA where we managed to secure some funding for me to coach the team for 6 weeks and prepare them for their first ever season at SYACL. Again, one of the many rewarding times of being involved in disability football.

SYCAL: How long have you been involved in coaching?

JP: I first started when I was about 15, I went and volunteered at RUCST’s summer holiday camps, just to gain experience and see what it was all about. I then started coaching an U8’s team called Valley Juniors with a coach called Scott, as I needed experience whilst taking my level 2 qualification, so Scott said he’d like someone to help him out at training. Fortunately I’m still involved with this team who are now under 13’s and playing some beautiful football in the A division. I also had a great experience coaching in California for three months in 2017.

SYACL: What are the major differences to coaching disability footballers, and are there any special techniques or routines that you use?

JP: I don’t think there are many major differences apart from understanding everyone’s needs. My main aim for the ability counts teams that I coached was that they enjoyed training on a Saturday morning, as competitive as they were, I wanted them to grow as individuals who were confident playing and had a smile on their face.

A lot of the kids who started coming had no other team to go to simply because they had different needs, so it was building a team from individuals who were low in confidence, had never played before and just wanted to feel part of something.

I think patience and understanding them is key, giving them time to collect their thoughts and making sure everyone is included no matter their ability.

SYACL: What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming involved in disability football?

JP: I’d tell them to get involved or they will regret it! It opens your eyes and you see the world in a different way. The sense of belonging and seeing the pride in their faces when they turn up to training every week in their kit is the most rewarding thing you can see. Even to this day, some of the kids who I used to coach are still close friends and to see them and their families outside of football together makes everything worthwhile.

SYACL: What are your own ambitions in the years ahead.

I’m currently studying a degree at the Open University alongside my work, as my aspirations are to become a teacher in the future at an SEN school.

The SYACL Website talks to Referee’s Secretary Sean Wright

The SYACL is no different to any football competition; the referees are a crucial element of what makes our League so special… and the Ability Counts League is lucky to have Sean Wright (pictured) on its organising Committee.

 Sean is the man who organises the officials for the five-a -side and seven-a-side fixtures. We wanted to know a little more about our Referee’s Secretary – who has been a referee for over 20 years.

 As always, we started by asking Sean to tell us a little about himself.

“I’m 53 years old and I live in Sheffield and have been involved in football since I was at school and used to play for the school football team. When I went to Shirecliffe College in Sheffield I played for the college football team and also Great Longstone and Dronfield in the Hope Valley League: plus I played in a 5-a-side League on Thursday night for a team called @The Fat Boys.‘

A Sheffield United supporter: I also referee at Sheffield United Academy plus watching Hallam FC as well.”

SYACL: When did you take up refereeing?

SW: “I started refereeing in 1997 after I had stopped playing, I decided that I wanted to put something back into football – I was also extremely critical of referees at the time! So, I thought ‘why not give it a go’ to see what it was like.

I enrolled on the referee’s course, which was only £10, and passed. It surprised a lot of people at the time that I wanted to become a referee!”

SYACL: When and how did you become involved in disability football?

SW: “I became involved in Disability Football in 2000. Brian Peck – who was working at the Sheffield FA at the time – sent out an email asking for referees who might be interested in getting involved in refereeing disability football. I got in touch with him and the first game I refereed was an 11-a-side game between a team of amputees, so they were all playing football on crutches.

They were so very skilful and fast: a real eye opener – and the game was extremely enjoyable.”

SYACL: You are currently the Referee’s Secretary on the SYACL Committee. Tell us a little about what is involved, and some of the challenges the role presents.

SW: “My job as Referee’s Secretary involves appointing the referees to both the 7-a-side and 5-a-side Leagues that we run. The main challenge in the role is ensuring that we have referees that I can rely on – which we have – and for the referees to know how to referee participants with a range of disabilities.”

SYACL: Tell us about the differences between refereeing disability football and mainstream football.

SW: “I find that the main difference between refereeing disability football and mainstream football is that the need for common sense and good player management is even more important in disability football. I take into account what disabilities the players have and I also believe that talking to players in a calm manner helps to calm them down.

If for instance a player in mainstream football shows dissent then they will now be sin binned; but if it happens in disability football I will talk to the player and also ask the coach to take him/her off to give the player some time to calm down. I allow them to bring on another player to replace the player who has gone off.”

SYACL: What would you say to anyone interested in becoming involved in refereeing disability football?

SW: “To anyone wanting to get involved in refereeing disability football, I’d say give it a go! It’s very rewarding and enjoyable to referee.

The main thing for me is that the players enjoy it and so do you, as the referee.”

The SYACL Website would like to thank Sean for talking to us, and wish him every success in the forthcoming season.

The South Yorkshire Ability Counts League features three pan-disability Leagues who play their fixtures at Concord Sports Centre, and three Leagues of participants with mild to moderate learning difficulties, including autism, who play alternately at Goals Doncaster and Goals Sheffield.

Aston Swallownest 7-a -side coach James Scally talks to the SYACL

 Next up in our series of feature interviews with key people in and around the South Yorkshire Ability Counts League is Aston Swallownest’s James Scally, who coached the Championship team to second place in the table last season – in just their first year in the League, writes Margaret Gregory and Colin Muncie for the SYACL Website.

As you’ll read, James isn’t resting on any laurels either, but Margaret opened up their chat by asking James a little about himself.

James explained, “Aston Swallownest runs mainstream sides from Under 7’s all the way to Under 18’s. Last season, though, we started our open-age Under-7’s disability side in the SYACL Championship. I’d played in the Ability Counts League for Rotherham Dynamos, as was, and Doncaster College, which is where I studied.”

James quickly saw that he wanted to coach in Disability football, and we wondered why.

 “I had a vision of setting up my own team and coaching in my own way,” he told us. “I plan the coaching sessions really thoroughly to make sure everyone enjoys them – and improves as players.”

“Coaching in Disability Football is really important and rewarding. Just because someone has a disability doesn’t mean that they can’t be a good player,” James insisted. “It gives everyone a chance to play football.”

Asked about his achievements as a coach, James is quick to highlight last season’s SYACL 7-a-side Championship.

 “We finished second in our very first year,” he reminded us. “It was a new team – a mixed team with varying abilities, but many of the squad started to come out of their shells as the season went on. One of our team – William – started as a shy lad, with only a little confidence – but by the end of the season he’d developed really strongly as a person.”

James is a 26-year-old an FA Level 2 Qualified coach, and a Rotherham United and West Ham United supporter. He has been coaching for around five years and feels that applying a mainstream-style approach to the coaching of disability footballers is important. He is delighted to see the growth of Disability football.

“ I didn’t start playing until I was 17, before that there weren’t any opportunities to play disability football,” he explained, adding, “I coached mainstream football and had fallen out of love a little with the game; but now, I find my role as coach in disability football so much more rewarding.”

FA Disability Mentor Liam Kay has suggested to James that he take his UEFA “B” Coaching licence, but so far, he’s found the necessary FA funding “hard to come by.” (the cost before any discount is around £990, more than twice the equivalent cost in Germany).

Meantime, Aston Swallownest’s success in the SYACL last season has resulted in the club entering two sides in the 7-a-side League, and James is confident they will both do well.

“I think the ‘Red’ Championship side could go one better than last season,” he insisted. “We’ve added some new players and I’m sure we’ll do well. The ‘Blue’ team will play in Division One; they are all happy to be playing, but they will improve too.”

James is also kicking off an Under-16’s Disability Team at Aston Swallownest this season, which has its own Facebook page.

“If you are interested in joining, you can contact me through the SYACL Website contact form, or through our Facebook page” James signed off. https://www.facebook.com/AstonSwallownestJFCDisabilityTeam

We wish James and everyone at Aston Swallownest every success for the coming season, and we thank him for talking to the SYACL Website.

We will keep you posted on his journey through the coaching ladder.

Meanwhile for the last 6 weeks James has been working in sports camps for Active Fusion kids at Thorne, Edlington and Ivanhoe in Doncaster and says he has loved it and the many cards of thanks certainly echo how much the kids have enjoyed it.

A former Active Fusion apprentice and now current coach, James wants to see more people with disabilities get involved in sport.

Those who have met James know he is a down-to-earth man who wants to give people opportunities in life to try new things. He has faced his own setbacks and knows the challenges facing people with disabilities. 

Hopefully, when lockdown restrictions ease, you can see James and his players on Matchdays at Concord Sports Centre in Sheffield.

 The South Yorkshire Ability Counts League features three pan-disability Leagues who play their fixtures at Concord Sports Centre, and three Leagues of participants with mild to moderate learning difficulties, including autism, who play alternately at Goals Doncaster and Goals Sheffield.

Before lockdown, when we were setting up our website, we spoke to Sam Firth.

SYACL:  you’re a familiar face around the SYACL and a fantastic supporter of the League, could you tell us a little about your career to date, your refereeing and playing activities, and your involvement with all levels and aspects of football.

SF: I had my first experience of working in community-based football while at University in London. My course was partnered with Arsenal FC’s community foundation which provided us with some real hands on experience of working with different communities in North London. After University I spent some time coaching in the US before joining Sheffield Wednesday Community foundation on my return; I did this firstly as a volunteer to try and find my way in before becoming a full-time employee. I actually joined the community foundation following an advert from SWFCCP’s disability programme for a volunteer coach, as a child one of my step parents was a carer and I have a couple of autistic family members, so it was something I felt I really wanted to invest my time into as I always knew the difference sport could make. 

Outside of my career I run a Saturday morning football team in the Sheffield Fair Play League called Hillsborough Pumas. I’ve been running the team for the last three years, although we are part of the larger club which was founded in 2000, we decided when setting up we wanted to create a link with a local junior team to provide a pathway for young players into men’s football. I’ve also recently qualified as a referee and have enjoyed refereeing some junior & men’s fixtures when time has permitted as I’ve also continued to play on Sunday mornings. 

SYACL: How did you come to be involved with Disability Football and how did your relationship with the SYACL evolve?

SF: I first became acquainted with the SYACL while working at Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme; we had 5 teams which competed in the SYACL. My first impression was really shock at the sheer size of the league and the number of players & volunteers involved. It was amazing to meet so many people who really gave up a lot of their time to put a smile on the faces of others, it’s still the thing that stands out most for me, the people involved in this league really are heroes to me. 

SYACL: How do you sum up the success of the SYACL – you must be thrilled at the way it has grown.

SF: I am really thrilled with the success of the League; I do think it has really benefited from been controlled by the people involved. When I first started in my role at S&HCFA the League was still primarily run by the County FA, this threw up its own challenges, but since Darren & Mike have taken the reins the League has continued to develop at a great pace; I think that really comes down to the communication they have with the clubs & keeping its values consistent. 

SYACL: What have been the major challenges in increasing local participation in Disability Football?

SF: At the moment disability football locally is still top heavy with adult players. The junior game has continued to develop over the last few years & we now have a partnered league with the Sheffield & District Junior Football League, which many know is one of the largest junior football leagues in the whole of Europe. The greatest challenge is really changing perceptions around what children, parents & coaches think they can do. As an example, we recently ran an event with local schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities, I spoke to a couple of parents afterwards to discuss their child joining in at a local session and the parents told me, “They couldn’t because they are autistic.” This for us poses the greatest challenge; how do we create an environment where parents can feel comfortable knowing their child has the support they require & are able to develop at their own pace?

This is something we are trying to work on at the moment by introducing recreational football centres with our local community foundation trusts and by speaking to parents/carers directly at taster events to let them know these opportunities are here for them to access. 

SYACL: How do you see the future for the League?

SF: I see the League & clubs continuing to grow. I would like to see more involvement from charter standard clubs partnering with disability football teams to offer support. There’s a great deal of experience within grassroots football and I believe forming links between large grassroots clubs and disability football will not only help develop it further, but provide a safe future for our clubs. Clubs who offer a full pathway for Men’s, Boys, Girls, Women’s and Disability football are much more likely to attract investment meaning better facilities and a better football experience. It will be interesting to see where we can work with local clubs to make this happen. 

We are also working on a local Women’s offer at the moment, initially this will be linked into a cross County competition with clubs from West Riding, Leicestershire, Birmingham & Staffordshire involved; however, I see this developing into something more localized with the Ability Counts League in the future. 

SYACL: What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming involved in Disability Football?

SF: I’d just share with them some of the great stories I’ve seen over the time I’ve been involved. Football has the power to change people’s lives and I’ve seen huge personal development in individuals who have joined our clubs and leagues. To me the Ability Counts League is about more than football, it’s about the people and the friendships that the people involved develop. 

Last night, (Tuesday, 26^th August) SYACL League Secretary Darren Warner appeared as Adam Oxley’s guest on Radio Sheffield‘s ‘The Sport Academy’ show regularly focusing on a huge variety of sporting stories across the region, featuring the famous, and the not-so-famous.

Darren was joined by League website Volunteer and Covid-19 Co-ordinator Colin Muncie; between them the pair fielded a series of questions from Adam about the history of the SYACL, preparations for the upcoming season, the development of the SYACL Website and the growth of interest in Disability football.

Adam – a huge supporter of local grassroots football – has asked that we keep him updated on the progress of the League in general and our future stories featuring our many personalities.

Darren’s piece can be found below and is reproduced with the kind permission of Adam and BBC Radio Sheffield.

Here’s the link to last night’s show. Listen to the whole show or the SYACL interview is at 1hr 36min 30 secs

Thanks to Adam and well done to Darren & Colin!!!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08n89rt