Craig has worked with many famous talents such as Wayne Rooney and has an active role nurturing football talents from grassroots to professional.

Craig, representing National Development Manager (Disability Football) Jeff Davis who was on holiday, made his visit to see the launch of a pilot scheme to help the improvement of PAN disability football and to see the progress Maidstone Raiders have made since the mini World Cup tournament.

The Raiders squad were put through a training session comprising football skill based scenarios which included shooting, dribbling and agility.

The players were assessed by Craig and Kent FA representative Paul Dolan in order to grade them for equal ability teams. This new process will lead to two or three divisions and a much more competitive environment for every Raiders player.

These sessions will be completed several times throughout the season to help the players improve their football skills and challenge themselves.

The players were also impressed by meeting someone who has been involved with famous football talents. Parents of the players believed this scheme was excellent as the children enjoyed themselves and were able to see their improvement throughout the session.

Following an interview after the session Craig had many comments about how the session went and what the future holds for PAN disability football involving clubs like Maidstone Raiders.

He also commented on the importance of making football available for everyone including children with disabilities and the increased support from the FA.

How impressed were you with Maidstone Raiders and the training/development session?

I am very impressed with the whole set up of Maidstone Raiders especially the huge contributions parents and staff have made in order to make this club such a success. This is my third visit to see the club and I am amazed by the effort produced and how much the children enjoy playing football and developing themselves in the training scenarios.

I feel it is very important to visit these clubs to make sure the huge efforts and contributions people have made don’t go unnoticed by the FA.

What support does The FA give to help disability football teams survive and prosper?

The FA supply staff to help run the clubs in the form of coaches and support personnel involved with the club to complete coaching courses which are official qualifications. The training/development session helped the players to improve their social and football abilities as they will compete against themselves in the training scenarios to try and improve their skills.

Each time these are conducted the players will become stronger on a variety of different levels. There is also a programme which clubs can follow on The FA website. Another vital link to the system is the county FA representative e.g. KCFA Paul Dolan, who can help the running of the club and report back to the FA with ideas to help the running of PAN Disability football.

How can The FA help to make the matches and the teams in this sector of football more equally matched and what does the future hold for UK disability football?

The most important aspect of this sector of football is an inclusion policy allowing players of all disabilities to play in matches in the same teams.

At grassroots level it is vital to meet the player’s needs and cater for players of all disabilities, to help with the improvement of their social and physical skills. Consequently the players will improve through this process.

The future is looking bright for UK disability football with a new pilot scheme for grassroots level e.g. (Maidstone Raiders) involving grouping players of the same abilities into corresponding teams in order to make a much more exciting, fair and challenging leagues.

The inclusion policy will still be vital and enabled allowing all players to play in football matches which is important at this level. The players will be split into two age groups - primary and high school level. By grading the players by ability it can be possible to have a ten year old playing in a higher age group due to their football ability.

Also there is a possibility of getting teams nationally to compete in the Paralympics games.

Overall the training session proved to be a success for both the players and PAN disability football. Raiders manager John Harvey said: "The session was excellent and I am pleased the players enjoyed it."

Maidstone Raiders, formerly South Park Raiders, are a Chartered Standard Club recognised by The FA and look to be going from strength to strength.

The Raiders have a proposed tournament at the David Beckham football academy next month, which will be a great day for both the players and parents.