British amputee football team wins international match and hits the press!

July 2010
In a dazzling display of stamina and tactical ball control, the Great Britain Amputee Football team crushed their French national team counterparts in an incredible 10- 0 defeat in Manchester on Saturday 5th June.

In the heat of a perfect summer afternoon and watched by a capacity crowd including the Lord Mayor of Manchester and the MP for Manchester Central, Tony Lloyd, the game was fiercely contested right from the start but the home team demonstrated their superiority to come away with the Takeda Cup plus additional funding for their World Cup bid.

The British team needs to raise £30,000 in order to compete in the 2010 World Amputee Football Federation World Cup in Argentina in October. At present they receive no significant funding to help pay for matches, travel expenses, or to finance training weekends.

For team manager Dave Tweed, the result augured well: "The team showed what they were made of today - and if they play like that in Argentina, we're in with a real chance of brining home the World Cup later this year."

In a further bid to raise awareness of the sport, the British players had appeared on the BBC's The One Show the evening before the match to discuss the game and their personal strategies for making the most of the realities of life as an amputee. Other media exposure included Granada TV, BBC North West, extensive radio and print press reaching audiences of over 8.8 million.

The EAFA (England Amputee Football Association) charity, creates opportunities for amputees and others with limited use of their limbs - cancer patients, ex-services personnel and accident victims - to play football at local, national and international level.

More information on the GBFA can be found at www.theeafa.co.uk, and individual donations can be made online at www.everyclick.com/amputeefootball or by contacting Interaction info@interactionrpr.co.uk T 01233 732 769