Peter Leonard

Founded in 1912, Rosario FC is one of the oldest football clubs in Ireland and recently celebrated its first year of running a disability football section. This enabled the club to support disabilities such as Down’s Syndrome, learning disabilities and difficulties, cerebral palsy, as well as players with hearing and visual impairments. It is a community club with over 1,200 youth players and 220 volunteers across boys, girls and now, thanks to sponsorship from Telefónica Tech UK&I, disability football. At the beginning of last year, Telefónica Tech UK&I asked employees to propose opportunities for sponsorship and engagement within our local communities. I came forward with an aspiration to set up a football club for disabled children and adults with Rosario YFC. Sports and social inclusion project Entrenadores, voluntarios y jóvenes que forman el equipo de discapacitados en el club Rosario YFC. A disability section within the club didn’t exist at the time, largely due to a lack of funding. The Board discussed my proposal and were keen to get behind the initiative. This funding was key to kickstarting this initiative as it enabled Rosario to purchase standard and specialised new equipment, for facilities rental, as well as ensuring each child received a Rosario training kit for free. Through funding from Telefónica Tech UK&I, Rosario YFC offers an inclusive, safe environment for children and adults with disabilities to play football, make friends and have fun. One year on from this, we now have over 40 players (from 5 years old to 39 years old), hosted a local disability tournament and have two teams playing in the Irish FA disability leagues. To celebrate this, we held an end of season awards night. This was a fantastic opportunity to come together and celebrate how far these young people have come and how much their confidence has grown from being a part of the club. Sharon Kent, parent of 11-year-old Jacob who attends the club, said: “We wanted to find an inclusive team for Jacob - with Rosario, we found everything we’d been looking for. Everything is so well-organised and we were made to feel very welcome. He was nervous to begin with, but with the help of the patient and supportive coaches, he has been able to develop his skills and has even been able to take part in the monthly IFA Inclusion tournaments. He has also made friends, developed his listening skills, and has had so much fun. It has been amazing for him, and we would recommend Rosario Disability football to anyone who would like their child to learn how to play football in a welcoming and fun environment.” ✅ Rosario YFC welcomes people of all ages and all disabilities from across Northern Ireland and is encouraging more children with disabilities to get active and sign up. AI of Things An explanation of how AI is changing the world through football January 9, 2024