When I was approached by TheFA.com to write a bi-monthly column I was somewhat concerned that I would not have enough to say or that people would quickly get fed up with me.

However, once I had banished those thoughts I then realised that this would be a great opportunity to continue to raise the profile of disability football in England and build on the successes we have had over the last five years.

For this first article I wanted to concentrate on the two squads that have qualified for the Paralympics in China in September.

It has been a long road to get both squads in the position to play as Great Britain and The FA have been the key player in supporting the GB Disability Football Association, not only through funding but allowing myself to act as Interim Performance Manager up to Beijing and Anna Hurley to be the Team Manager for both squads.

It is the first time since 1992 that any football squads will be participating in the games and this was achieved last year in qualification events in Greece and Brazil. Now the preparations are in full swing to ensure the highest finish possible is realised.

Great support has also been gained through the British Paralympic Association, the Home Country Disability Associations and the Home Country Institutes of Sport as the players follow fitness and strength and conditioning programmes. Each squad has a mix of English, Scottish and Welsh players although the final selected squads will not be confirmed by the BPA until June.

The Blind squad have Tony Larkin as Head Coach and John Ball as his assistant. They have both been working extremely hard not only to raise the level of the current squad but have spent a great amount of time on talent identification and might have found the next players who will be battling for gold in 2012.

Of the six teams that have qualified GB are ranked fourth, but if we can get ourselves fit we may spring a few surprises. We are at a disadvantage as four of the teams in Beijing are full time. However, if we can engender the British spirit I know we can succeed.

The Cerebral Palsy squad have Lyndon Lynch (pictured above) as Head Coach and me as his assistant. The GB squad have a very good mix of home country players - in fact the Scotland and England teams finished sixth and seventh respectively in the World Championships.

Once again five teams in the eight team competition are full time while GB has players who are in employment or at college and have to juggle their time to ensure they continue to follow the programme. Like the Blind squad I think we will surprise a few people in our quest for a podium place.

With the 2012 London Games we will never have a better opportunity to showcase disability sport. We have to ensure The FA is a governing body that is ready and can meet the challenges ahead.

Not only do we need to have local training and playing opportunities but we also need to identify young disabled children and get them on the player pathway which will enable them to reach their potential.

Exciting times in 2008 and beyond. I will keep you updated of the progress of these squads pre-Beijing and while we are at the games.

Speak to you in a fortnight.

Jeff