Men

Local clubs and leagues are affiliated to the County Football Association in each area, and with up to 2000 clubs running in some areas, there is a great deal of football being played.

Your starting point for finding a club is to get in touch with your local County FA, who can then give you further information on the teams and leagues at different levels in your area.

For more information on taking the next step up to the professional game click here

For details on your local County FA please click here.

Women

So what should you do to get involved? Well, there are probably loads of teams in your local area who are calling out for more players. Visit the Get Involved section of TheFA.com for details of local festivals, courses and contact details of your local County Football Association who will put you in contact with the right local club for you.

You'll also find tips on playing, details on the excellence system for talented players and details of how today's England players started out.

For more information on the Get Involved campaign please click here

Playing Opportunities for Disabled Players

The Football Association and the English Federation of Disability Sport have developed the Ability Counts programme, which provides training and playing opportunities for disabled adults and children. This is provided through either a professional football club, a Football in the Community scheme or by a County Football Association. For further information contact EFDS on 0161 247 5294 or federation@efds.co.uk they will be able to identify the clubs or County Football Association’s providing regular opportunities.

Ability Counts is the grassroots programme that begins to identify those players with potential to progress to national squads. The Football Association and the specific National disability Sports organisations have responsibility to develop the disability player pathway, which enables players to reach their potential. Currently The Football Association support six squads:

  • Amputees
  • Blind
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Deaf
  • Learning Disability
  • Partially Sighted


These squads have different classifications, rule adaptations and competition structure. The following information will outline the differences between the specific groups:

Information on amputee football can be obtained from the British Amputee and Sports Association on 0115 9260220

Information on Blind and Visually Impaired football, call British Blind Sport on 01926 424247

Information call British Deaf Sports council on voice 01943 850214, DCT 01943 850081, fax 01943 850828

Information on Cerebral Palsy football can be obtained from Cerebral Palsy Sport on 0115 9401202

For further details call the English Sports Association for People with Learning Disabilities on 01924 267580