DREAM, BELIEVE, ACHIEVE

THE INSPIRATION A PAN-DISABILITY FOOTBALL CLUB MAKING BIG STRIDES IN THEIR COMMUNITY

WESTON Ability FC have a motto: Dream, Believe, Achieve – and no-one can argue that they aren’t living up to it. The pan-disability football club have made big strides since their formation 15 years ago (then under a different name) by Graham Ellgen and Dave Edmonds.

The duo took it upon themselves to set up a club which would cater for players with a broad spectrum of impairments and health conditions. The idea was to give players a different pathway to develop in the game and to help those who felt they didn’t belong in mainstream grassroots football teams.

The training was first held at a disability school hall in Weston-super-Mare, but, as interest grew, it moved to a grassroots football pitch.

In 2011, Ellgen sadly had to step down from the club due to ill health, leaving only Edmonds at the helm, but with the support of parents and guardians the club managed to push on.

At this time, they had seven players who were entering the adults age league bracket so a decision was made to enter them as the club’s first-ever adult team in the Somerset FA Ability Counts League.

Moving forward with some seasons under their belt, Weston Ability FC became the club’s official name in 2016 and the club continued to grow in numbers and gain confidence. The training remained fun, but became more structured and the club added more coaches.

As 2019 came around and the club felt more ready than ever, they entered two adult teams into the Somerset FA Ability Counts League. The more structured training sessions paid off as Weston Ability FC finished first and second!

It was the club’s first-ever title win and one that will be forever embedded in their history.