Currently there is the opportunity to play at the following levels:
Step 1: Schools Festivals
Organised by Gareth Jones at Watford Community Sports & Education Trust, the regular schools festivals take place on an annual basis
Step 2: Hertfordshire Inclusive Football League (HiFL)
HiFL was established in 2009-2010 and is the progression from the disability festivals that took place previously. The league runs on the 2nd Sunday of every month during the season and has divisions at U12 mixed, U16 boys and Adult Male.
Step 3: Regional Leagues
Watford FC currently play in the FA East Region Ability Counts league and play fixtures in Cambridgeshire on a regular basis.
Step 4: Player Development Centre
Hertfordshire FA and Watford FC now operate one of the two Player Development Centres in the eastern region. The centre is based at Ashlyns School in Berkhamsted and is the top of the player pathway with Hertfordshire, with the aim of the centre being to produce players capale of making the final few steps.
Step 5: Regional Impairment Specific Squads
From the PDC, players will be nominated to impairment specific routes to prepare them for national squads. Two Regionals Impairment Specific Squads are run in the eastern region, these squads are a U16 Visually Impaired Centre of Excellence and a Senior (16+) Male Cerebral Palsy Squad. These regional squads will feed directly into the England teams run by The FA.
Step 6: National Squads
There are eight international disability squads for players with differing kinds of disabilities. These are: Blind, Partially Sighted, Deaf and Hearing Impaired, Cerebal Palsy, Learning Disabilities, Amputee. With regular fixtures, training camps and international competitions, this is the pinnacle of all football for any disability player.
For more information on the current player pathway please contact Joe Goude by e-mail by clicking here.