The Pitching In Isthmian League outfit have run the scheme - designed to provide free football sessions for all children and young adults with additional needs, disabilities and/or live with disadvantages - for a number of years and in that time it has only gone from strength to strength. Canvey Island were recently successful in receiving extra funding from league sponsors Pitching In’s Trident Community Foundation, which offers money to clubs at Step 3 and 4 of the non-league pyramid for community, non-capital projects. And Gulls club director Nicholas Wright revealed that the new money will allow the club to expand their current offering and further ensure everyone can enjoy the beautiful game .
“It was started in 2018 by our chairman John Batch who realised there were no footballing facilities for people with physical disabilities and learning issues so we set it up back then, said Wright. “We now have a group of over 20 mixed, both girls and boys, who play football on Saturday mornings and also play in a league with similar Soccability teams. “This is our third grant and we're extremely grateful.
What we've used this money for previously is for a professional coach to run the training sessions and he also helps to mentor some of them. “During Covid for example, they couldn't play football together, it was really affecting their mental health so being able to speak to someone over the phone during the week made a difference during those difficult times in lockdo.