Kickstart Female CP Football

The proposed project contributes to the objective of this call as it seeks to use sports in tackling the problem of social integration of children and adolescents with motor disabilities, by raising their awareness and that of other relevant stakeholders (sporting bodies, families, physical education teachers, psychologists, physiotherapists) about Female Cerebral Palsy Football. It is widely acknowledged that sport can be a powerful tool for transforming community attitudes and empowering individuals through the acquisition of new physical and social skills, regardless of individuals’ physical or mental state. Known as a ‘universal language’ and also as the beautiful game, football is a sport which resonates with the European community, making it the perfect vehicle to engage people in sport and physical activity. It is also important to remember that people with disability are not a homogeneous group and, therefore, have different needs and abilities. In that aspect, wheelchair slalom empowers people with motor disabilities that otherwise would not be able to practice other types of sports. The reported benefits of CP Football are numerous, from improvement on their overall physical abilities, mental state and social relations to improvement in mobility and their independence in every-day situations. Through a collaborative learning project for Female CP Football, we are proud to be dedicating our efforts to well- targeted investment and capacity-building, to achieve more than parity and play our role to help promote and grow the female format of our sport everywhere, for everyone. This project will bring together a range of Female CP Football stakeholders from across the EU to be part of this accelerator collaboration project to identify the best ways, most effective use of resources and most importantly the way that female players want to engage with cerebral palsy football.