Football a favourite at multi-disability gala days

With the Rio 2016 Paralympics kicking off last week, multi-disability gala days around Sydney have been vibrant with school students and members of the community.

Football NSW staff attended the annual ‘Get Active Macarthur’ event at Minto last week with over 1000 students in attendance from both mainstream and special needs schools.

Futsal was one of the favourite activities on the day with plenty of skills, drills and goals scored on the day. With the AWD Futsal league season about to kick off in October, this was a great opportunity to introduce students about the league.

Murray Elbourn, Sport NSW Disability Inclusion Officer and coach for Raiders Futsal in the AWD league was overwhelmed with the amount of interest futsal had on the day.

“Days like this supported by local community and state sporting organisations provide the type of pathways to inclusion that Sport NSW seek with their partners.

“Having the opportunity to help hundreds of students become aware of the opportunities which Football NSW provide through their existing AWD league will enhance and sustain this program into the future.”

Football NSW staff Matt Rippon and Demelza Howard also attended the Wheelchair Sports Expo over Sunday and Monday to showcase Football NSW disability programs Football4all and AWD Futsal.

The event saw over 300 students engage in a variety of sports including Futsal and blind football.

Howard was very pleased with how both events went.

“Many students were welcoming of football and enjoyed having a kick around on the day”

“It was heart-warming to see all the smiles on the faces of students who were ecstatic when they scored a goal.”