The FA Disability Cup Finals returned to St George’s Park this weekend with three ties taking place on Saturday and two more on Sunday, with all live on BT Sport, the first time the competition has been broadcast live.
The 2021 Finals were the fifth edition of the competition and saw five cup finals scheduled across the weekend, delivered in partnership with a range of impairment-specific organisations.
The Disability Cup is the largest competition of its kind in this country, giving players within impairment-specific football a national competition of their own, complete with dreams of reaching St. George’s Park for finals weekend.
The Results
Saturday 17 July
POWERCHAIR FINAL – Aspire PFC 0-2 West Bromwich Albion PFC
After a tight goal-less draw after normal time, the game was decided on penalties, with Chris Gordon and Marcus Harrison sealing the title for the Baggies.
CEREBRAL PALSY FINAL - North East & Yorkshire 5-2 CP North West
Two goals apiece from Cameron Osburn and Jack Fox-Hockney along with a Josh Power own goal were enough to secure the title for North East & Yorkshire. Sam Dewhirst and Lewis Tupman netted the goals for CP North West.
PARTIALLY SIGHTED FINAL - Scorpion Futsal Club 1-3 Birmingham Futsal
First-half goals from Nik Acton and a brace from Harry MacDonald set Birmingham on their way to victory, with Scorpions pulling back a consolation goal from Bailey pack after the break.
Sunday 18 July
AMPUTEE FINAL - Peterborough United Amputees 0-0 Portsmouth Amputees (Peterborough win 6-5 on penalties)
BLIND FINAL - RNC Hereford 1-1 Merseyside Blind & VI FC (RNC Hereford win 2-1 on penalties)
A goal from Robin Williams put Merseyside ahead in the first half, only for Dan English to equalise soon after. The tie couldn't be settled in normal time though, leading to a shootout and the title heading to Hereford.
BT Sport’s coverage was presented by Alex Brooker, presenter of Channel 4’s The Last Leg, five-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockcroft and BT Sport presenter Jules Breach.
Supporting its long-term partnership with the four home nation football federations, which aims to boost support for disability football, BT Sport’s coverage was available for anyone to watch without a subscription via its app for mobiles, tablets, smart TVs, media adapters and games consoles, plus the BT Sport’s Facebook channel. Highlights coverage will also be available on Channel 4 on 25 July, with details announced soon.
The competition also offered the most accessible live coverage of a football match taking place in the UK to date. Live coverage of all the finals featured on three BT Sport channels with each offering different accessibility features. BT Sport 3 featured enhanced Audio Description delivered by an expert based at St George’s Park. In addition, BT Sport Extra 1 carried British Sign Language, with subtitles available on BT Sport 1. A fourth channel, BT Sport Ultimate, provided coverage in up to 4K HDR picture quality.
Next season, BT Sport will trial the inclusion of these accessibility features around several sports. BT is committed to making these features available as standard for all of its live coverage in the future. Find out more on how to watch, including channel information and how to access all the accessibility features.
