Wingate & Finchley play host to local rivals Enfield Town this Saturday.
Aside from the importance of a game between two sides challenging for the Ryman League play-offs, the date also represents a milestone in local community football, with the advent of the first ever disability tournament held between the clubs.
The “Vic Smith Beds Community cup” will be contested between a Wingate & Finchley representative side made up of around 20 players from partners Barnet Mencap, and their colleagues from Enfield Town’s disability scheme.
The tournament will include a number of small sided games with the winners being presented with a trophy on the pitch at half time.
The competition came to fruition as part of Wingate & Finchley’s vision to develop football in the wider community, whilst offering a clear player pathway to everyone involved within the club.
Wingate & Finchley project manager Ricky Deller advised: “The Mencap programme is something the club is extremely proud of, and we are eager for it to grow. We are keen to help players from all backgrounds who are passionate, dedicated and willing to learn to play the Wingate way. The partnership with Barnet Mencap has proved a tremendous success, and after three years we have seen a significant increase in the participants' abilities. With the introduction of a structured tournament we can only see this growing; this is not only an achievement for Wingate and Finchley FC but for the wider community of Barnet.”
These positive sentiments are also shared by Barnet Mencap community projects manager Shelley Gibbons.
“The Wingate and Finchley FC coaching link up is part of Barnet Mencap’s highly successful award-winning sports and fitness project ‘Fit2gether’. These extremely well attended sessions are greatly enjoyed and have enabled members to improve and develop their football skills. In the near future the group will hopefully be forming a team and joining the Step learning disabilities league in Camden."
The disability tournament will start at 1pm on the day. Wingate & Finchley FC would encourage as many people to come down for the afternoon, to show support for both their local team, and the players participating in this hugely important competition.
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