Disability Programme

The Stockport County Community Foundation is an important element of the Football Club, it takes Stockport County off the pitch and into the local community to engage children and adults in structured, safe, fun environment and provides development activities, giving Stockport County FC a huge profile outside of Edgeley Park.

The Community Foundation is very proud of the Pan-Disability Football sessions we offer within Stockport to over 150 male and female children, young people and adults with a range of physical and learning disabilities, mental illness, dementia and complex needs to engage with football and sport activities promoting a healthy lifestyle. The Disability Football project is designed to extend physical activity for young people and adults in the local area and increase the opportunity to play football and take part in a range of multi-sports. Through this provision to a variety of groups, with a range of needs, we aim to make a positive difference to people’s lives promoting health and wellbeing, extending opportunity, choice and control benefitting attendees physically, socially and emotionally.

Our provision includes the following sessions:

• Pan Disability Junior Football Coaching Sessions for 8 to 16 years –
  Monday 6-7pm at Life Leisure, Houldsworth Village, Broadstone Road, Reddish, Stockport, SK5 7AT (£3.00 per child per session).
• Pan Disability Adult Football Coaching Sessions 16 years and above –
  Monday 6-7pm at Life Leisure, Houldsworth Village, Broadstone Road, Reddish, Stockport, SK5 7AT (£3.50 per adult per session).
• Mental Health Monday 2-3pm Football Coaching Sessions to Pennine Care Trust at Heathfield House, Cale Green, Stockport, SK2 6RA (Free session)
• Social Wellbeing Football Coaching Session for adults Tuesday 10.30am -11.30am at Life Leisure, Brinnington Park Leisure Complex, Northumberland Road, Stockport, SK5 8LS. (Free session).
• East Cheshire Ability Counts Junior (U12’s and U16’s) Pan Disability Football Festival – Every month on Saturday 10am-1pm at Wilmslow Leisure Centre, Station Road, Rectory Fields, Wilmslow, SK9 1BU.
• East Cheshire Ability Counts Adult Pan Disability Football League – Every month on Friday evening 7pm at Power League, Craig Road, Stockport, SK4 2AP. Hosting 15 teams, competitive matches with 3 divisions – Premiership, Championship and League One (results and tables are recorded and can be viewed on FA Full Time).

As a Community Foundation we work very closely in partnership with the Cheshire FA and run the monthly Ability Counts Football Tournaments for junior and adult disability teams to take part in from Stockport, Manchester, High Peak and Cheshire. In addition, we work in partnership with local schools and special schools, colleges, disability organisations, day services and mental health groups by providing both football and multisport coaching sessions on a weekly basis.

The project has grown in strength since its inception 8 years ago and is now a key part of many people’s weekly routine.

What we provide:

• Football/Multisport training sessions for all disabled people (male and female) including wheelchair users, those with mobility impairments and to mental health groups.
• Opportunities for participation in competitive and friendly football matches
• Opportunities for competitive football in local and regional tournaments
• Professional Footballers Association player involvement
• Volunteering opportunities

Over the duration of the project, we have seen the many benefits that the project has brought to people’s lives in that it helps to:

• extend opportunity and choice for disabled children and adults to take part in physical activities such as football and multisport.
• promotes health and wellbeing through a sporting activity.
• improves self-esteem and confidence.
• builds new skills and provides appropriate opportunities for disabled people to volunteer.
• enables participants to enjoy themselves and have fun.
• reduces participants social isolation by enabling social networking and helping to build friendships.
• builds on participants existing interests or to develop new interests as well as enabling them to progress, if they so choose, to ‘mainstream’ providers of leisure services.
• benefits families and carers in providing them with breaks from their caring role, enabling parents and carers to spend time with their other siblings or spend time doing everyday tasks.

If anyone is interested or would like further information about the Pan-Disability Football Project please contact Adrian Rigby-Bates on 0161 286 8888 (option 3) or email [email protected]