A huge week of CP (cerebral palsy) football will kick-off at Valentine Sports Park (VSP) tomorrow with six squads descending on Football New South Wales’ headquarters in Glenwood for the 2019 National CP Football Championships.
Between October 3 and 6, the six state teams will contest the 2019 National CP Football Championships, a tournament that has been held since 2004 and which serves as a talent identifier and pathway for the Australian National CP Football Team, the Pararoos.
New South Wales has won fourteen of the fifteen National CP Football Championships held since 2004, however with the sport continuing to grow in both popularity and participation Australia-wide, this year Football NSW will have two squads (NSW White & NSW Blue) vying for the title.
Capital Football, Football Federation South Australia, Football Victoria, and Football West will also be represented at the tournament, which will feature six matches for each squad.
“Everyone is really looking forward to this year’s National CP Championships,” Pararoos Head Coach Kai Lammert said.
“Over the last few years we have witnessed strong growth in both the interest and participation of CP football around Australia, and while the teams will all be competing strongly to claim the title, this event also enables us to bring the CP football community together for a great few days.
“The Pararoos recently returned from the IFCPF World Cup in Spain, and with the squad set for more exposure and tournaments in the coming years our staff will be keeping a close eye on all the players participating at this year’s Championship as we seek to unearth more national team representatives for the future,” he said.
Following the 2019 National CP Football Championships, the focus of Australia’s CP football community will shift to the hosting of the first ever Regional Female CP Football Camp.
Between October 8 and 12, VSP will play host to the Camp which will include twelve players from Australia and four from Japan.
FFA is running the camp in conjunction with the International Federation of CP Football (IFCPF) and Football NSW, and it is envisaged that the Camp will serve as the launchpad for a national CP women’s football team.
“The inaugural 2019 Asia-Oceania Regional Female CP Football Camp will feature players from Sydney, regional NSW, Western Australia, Tasmania, and also four participants from Japan, and demonstrates Australia’s eagerness to advance CP football for women in the region,” Lammert added.
