Football club Partick Thistle has joined forces with Scottish charity Finding Your Feet to bring amputee football to Scotland.
Chance To Take Part
The charity is set to hold its first training session at Firhill in Glasgow, giving anyone with upper or lower amputations or limb deficiencies the chance to take part. Prior to this, Scottish amputees have had to travel over 150 miles for the nearest opportunity for a game.
The project has been backed by the Scottish Football Association and has sparked interest in running similar projects from clubs including Rangers and Aberdeen. Partick Thistle already runs training sessions for the disabled including frame football and it is hoped that this new project will be just as popular.
Support Network For Amputees
Finding Your Feet was set up two years ago by Corinne Hutton, who was left a quadruple amputee after losing her hands and feet to septicaemia in June 2013. The aim of the charity is to provide a support network to amputees and those with limb deficiency through emotional, financial and practical support and through the creation of opportunities in sport and recreation.
“Finding Your Feet is trying to help amputees back to all sorts of activities and football is very popular in the central belt.”
Corinne, from Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, has raised a substantial amount of money to help other amputees. The 44-year-old recently became the first female quadruple amputee to conquer Ben Nevis and will receive the UK’s first double hand transplant later this year.
Access Sport
Corinne said: “Finding Your Feet is trying to help amputees back to all sorts of activities and football is very popular in the central belt. Our intention is to bring it to Scotland in order to create another opportunity for amputees to access sport.
“Partick Thistle is our local club so seemed the obvious choice as a partner in taking this forward and we were thrilled when they embraced the opportunity.”
Lifestyle Option
Paul Kelly, manager of Partick Thistle Community Trust, said: “We want to awaken an idea in the minds of people who don’t consider football to be a lifestyle option for them, so when Finding Your Feet approached us about amputee football there was never a doubt we wanted to be involved.
“We have put a business plan together for the next three years which will include weekly coaching sessions as well as sending coaches for certificates on training people with disabilities.
“We’re all looking forward to working with Finding Your Feet to make amputee football a reality in Scotland.”
If you’d like to find out more visit the Finding Your Feet website here.
