Football Opportunities for Everyone

Albion in the Community (AITC) is the official charity of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club and Sussex’s largest provider of football opportunities to people with a disability. 

More than 400 people now attend the charity’s 30 regular football sessions, including a growing number of people at the fortnightly club for players with Down’s syndrome. 

Upwards of 30 people attend the session, which takes place on alternate Sunday afternoons at the Albion’s American Express Elite Football Performance Centre in Lancing; it represents a fantastic opportunity for the players to get active, make new friends and enjoy the playing the sport they love. 

The session costs the charity around £3,500 a year to run, and AITC is now looking for seven local businesses to help fund the session by each donating £500 for the coming season. We caught up with Paul Brackley, AITC’s disability manager, to find out more… 

Can you tell us a little about the session? 

We run a wide range of sessions for players with a disability, several of which are disability-specific, including our session for players with Down’s syndrome. Our players absolutely love playing football and as well as the regular session, we also try and arrange matches for them – including some which have been held at the Amex Stadium.

Our players come from all over Sussex to take part; the youngest is four and the oldest 50. We make sure the session is suitable for players of all ages and our coaches are all FA-qualified and experienced in adapted sessions for people with a disability. Its’ easy to take for granted how much it means for people to play football and be part of a team – at AITC we remove the barriers which can prevent people from having that opportunity. 

And you’re looking for help to fund the session for the coming season? 

That’s right. As a charity much of our work is only possible as a result of the generosity of our supporters and fundraisers. Put simply, the more businesses support our work, the more people we can help. A session like the one we run for players with Down’s syndrome costs around £3,500 a year. We wanted to give as many local businesses as possible the chance to support our work and so, rather than look for one headline sponsor, we’re trying to sign up seven businesses who are each willing to donate £500. 

Presumably that money has a real impact? 

Absolutely. Our players really benefit from attending our session – on and off the pitch. Playing regular football is a fantastic way of getting active and benefits their general health; it is also a fantastic way of making friends and having fun. Every business which signs up to our campaign will get the chance to come along to a session and see for themselves the amazing impact their generosity will have on the people we work with. 

How can people get involved? 

Anyone who would like to find out more about how they can support our session for players with Down’s syndrome should email: fundraising@albioninthecommunity.org.uk. 

We’re also always looking for new players! For more information on this session, or the other sessions we run in Sussex for players with a disability, get in touch by emailing us at: disability@albioninthecommunity.org.uk.