Foundation’s cerebral palsy football team win first trophy

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation’s cerebral palsy (CP) football team won their first trophy over the weekend – just six months after their first training session.

Teams from across the country and Europe descended on the University of Warwick, with the Foundation side claiming the tier three CP Challenge Trophy.

A superstar performance in the final from 15-year-old Liam saw him pick up the match ball after netting a hat-trick.

Liam, from the borough of Barnet, has burst onto the scene, with mum Nera only discovering the Foundation last month.

She said: “Liam’s always been obsessed with football and it’s helped with his mobility a lot. He had a wheelchair when he was little and told he might not walk properly.

“Football kept him up and about, running after the ball, but trying to fit in with other boys his age has, naturally, been difficult through the years.

“I couldn’t believe it when we found out Tottenham Hotspur had assembled a CP team because Liam’s a huge Spurs fan. When I told him, he was elated. I can’t describe the noise that was coming out of his mouth. He was screaming, so happy. Being a lifelong Spurs fan, it means the world to him.

“For me, to see him over the weekend, with everyone telling me they’ve never seen him so happy, we wouldn’t get this without the Foundation CP team. Thinking of everything we’ve gone through with hospital appointments, to see him at his peak like that, it was just brilliant and I’m so grateful.”

CP is a heath condition affecting movement and coordination, primarily caused by a shortage of oxygen in parts of the brain before, during or soon after birth.

In CP football, players are assigned a classification, ranging from minimally impaired to significantly impaired, based on their range of movement and the location of their impairment. There is a limit on the number of players from each classification allowed on the pitch at any one time. Matches are seven a-side and most often two halves of 30 minutes.

Captain of the Foundation CP team is Christian McDonald, who returned to lead the side having first got into football through the Foundation at the age of six, subsequently going on to become a European Championship and World Cup semi-finalist with Northern Ireland.

On winning a trophy back with the Foundation, he said: “It honestly means so much to me. My time away was amazing, but what the Foundation’s done for me, as a human being, has been astonishing, and Tottenham Hotspur’s like home for me – lifting the trophy got me emotional!

“What the Foundation provides is the platform for us to be able to express our talent and skills that we never thought we’d be able to. The support with the learning and development of players brings a smile to all our faces.”

Foundation programme coordinator John Abel takes charge of the CP team that trains on Saturdays at Goffs Academy.

He said: “The boys were over the moon to come back with our first trophy. It’s been six months of dedication and hard work from them, a lot of listening and taking responsibility for how they play as a team. We’re now looking forward to attending the FA Disability Cup at St. George’s Park in May.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about playing CP football with the Foundation can email John at john.abel@tottenhamhotspur.com.