Football is much more than a game in which a ball is kicked around by two opposing team. Football is a way of life and something that strives to unite people behind a common passion, irrespective of race, colour, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

For people with a disability, access to football may have felt limited in the past to just being able to watch but with the advent of adaptive and inclusive forms of football, they have been able to actively participate in the beautiful game.

One such example of this is Cerebral Palsy Football (CP Football), which is for athletes with cerebral palsy or an acquired brain injury. Just as with regular football, it is a team sport played as a recreational activity, or competitively at club, national, regional and international level.

The rules for CP Football are largely the same as for regular football; the main changes to the rules are that there are:

• Only 7 players on the field of play
• Two halves of 30 minutes
• Smaller pitch and goal posts
• No off-side law
• Throw-ins can be made by rolling the ball into play

A new format of Cerebral Palsy Football is Frame Football, which is for children who need walkers or walking frames. It was first piloted in England in 2014 and is now played around the world, further increasing inclusivity of football.

It is currently the Cerebral Palsy World Cup, which is organised and run by the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF). It is taking place in Salou, Spain and includes compensations for both men and women, running from 5 to 24 November and 11 to 20 November respectively. England’s Para Lions are competing in the men’s competition and are hoping to improve on their finish of 6th in the last world cup in 2022. Footballers Matt Crossen, who suffered a brain injury after having a stroke, and Aaron Lucas speak to BBC Sport about representing England at the Cerebral Palsy World Cup in Spain.on this video.

The first international CP Football competition was held in Edinburgh in 1978, as part of the Cerebral Palsy International Games, followed by the first world championships in 1982.

All matches in the Cerebral Palsy World Cup are streamed on YouTube on the IFCPF page and we at Williamsons will be cheering on the Para Lions, alongside all of the inspirational athletes participating in the competition!