Help power Crystal Palace Powerchair FC
We’re calling for your help to raise money for Crystal Palace Powerchair FC. By buying a ticket in the Santa Draw on a matchday, you’ll be directly helping us fund three new chairs for our team, enabling more people with a disability to play the sport they love.
We’ve been running powerchair football sessions at Waddon Leisure Centre with the Croydon Active Lifestyles Team for four years and the impact on players’ lives is huge. However, each chair costs thousands of pounds and our team desperately need new ones to help them play and compete.
Born with femoral hypoplasia, a rare condition affecting his growth, 15-year-old Palace fan Joel Sprouse has been playing with our team for four years and as his mum, Janice, told us, it has been lifechanging.
“Joel was never sporty growing up, but he absolutely loved it from the outset. He loved using the powerchair and the camaraderie of it, I just saw a new side of my son come to life,” she explained.
“It’s for all people and it’s all-inclusive. It’s liberating, because when you have a disability, that can stop you from joining in with your peers and there can be limitations to what you can do, but powerchair football gets rid of all of that.”
Powerchair football is for people with physical disabilities who use powered wheelchairs in order to manoeuvre and kick the ball. Our team has recently entered a new league and is struggling to keep up with their opponents: “The chairs that we have, we are so thankful for, but they really are on their last legs,” Janice continued.
“In the same way that football fans get frustrated when their team can’t buy new players, we’re having that frustration because we don’t have the chairs that would give us the cutting edge!
“For Joel, powerchair football is absolutely the highlight of his week, he loves the challenge of it and he’s learnt so many important things like team work. It has also helped him to better understand and enjoy football generally. It would just be amazing if the Palace fans could get behind us.”
Want to help? You can sign up to the Super Draw online meaning you never miss a draw even if you can’t make the match, or you can purchase tickets at Selhurst Park on matchday.