Fundraising for a new sports wheelchair that will help me to play Powerchair football at the highest level.

Powerchair football is the only sport I can play because I cannot push myself in a manual chair. The unique opportunity to play sport has changed my life. Football provides me with a means of achieving success as part of a team, which cannot be matched by any individual achievements. Dedication is the only way to accomplishment in this sport. The determination to achieve my goals has spread beyond football because of the confidence it has given to me. I was a nervous person before starting to play football and I worried about going outside and meeting new people. I developed a self-belief by playing football that has played a big part in me going to university and getting an Upper Second-Class degree with honours in Computing Management and now I’m studying for master’s degree in Advanced Software Engineering. Football has also encouraged me to be more independent and to take more control over my life. I have also met many friends who share my interests and life experiences, which was difficult before football, and enhances my identity as a disabled person.

Powerchair football is a fast developing sport, which requires a specially adapted wheelchair that is able to accelerate and spin very quickly. The chair has a modified bumper on the front that is used to hit the ball by spinning the wheelchair into the ball. The Strike Force is regarded as the best and safest chair to play football. It is designed, exclusively for powerchair football, from the ground up and greatly improves the overall game. The Strike Force can hit the ball harder and allows for greater acceletation and technical control. My current sports wheelchair is a day chair adapted to play powerchair football which has many disadvantages and does not allow me to fulfil my potential. The Strike Force costs about £8,500 as it is created in America and shipped to England. Charity grants and donations are becoming increasingly difficult given that I am now 22. Please support my fundraising Campaign by donating and spreading the word. It is also the reason why I will be giving my current chair, now valued at £1,000, to a new and developing powerchair football team that are in need of chairs.

New players will be able to access football as a result. The sport has a competitive national league where teams from all over the country meet to play planned fixtures over a given weekend. A powerchair family has been formed where everyone knows and supports each other. I play for Bolton Bullets Powerchair Football Club in the WFA National Premiership. The new Strike Force will help me to continue to play at this level and to push onto greater heights.