Amputee Youngsters Triumph

Britain’s amputee team came back from Turkey with their heads held high and a well deserved third place finish in the Amputee European Football Championships. With a combination of youth and experience the team showed great promise winning two games drawing one and losing to eventual champions Russia.

After using the Foundation-backed Partington Sports Village as a training base the Great Britain squad recently headed out to Antalya, Turkey to compete in the Championships.

The Foundation’s Adam Temple coached the team in the lead up to the tournament and travelled out to Turkey as head coach for the squad. 

“For a younger squad they did fantastically well finishing third overall. There were a couple of lads who made their first international appearance. This included Martin Heald aged 17, who made his first full international appearance against the Ukraine and capped a fantastic game with a wonderful headed goal.”

Community Development Officer Adam is based full time at the new two million pound complex and team captain, Dave Tweed has been impressed with its facilities and also praised the younger debutants in the squad.

‘It is a fantastic place to train and provided us with a great base in the run up to the event.  It was a relatively successful tournament and we gave some of our youngsters a quality game at international level that they wouldn't have usually had. They responded to the pressure really well.’

‘We are now looking forward to attending the 'World Club Amputee Championships' as Manchester (United) Amputee FC in Sochi, Russia.’

Tyrone Welcome was also awarded ‘Best Goalkeeper’ award, which was a first for a British player, with new facilities and a committed coach in Adam the team look to add more awards and hopefully the World Club Cup in Russia next May.

The Manchester United Foundation is a forerunner in the promotion and development of Amputee football, providing opportunities for amputee players to train to the highest level.

Find out more about our disability football programme at this link.