Wolves Disability FC’s adult Gold team sealed a successful season at St George’s Park by being crowned league champions of the Premiership.
Playing in the Staffordshire Ability Counts League, the Gold team have produced a campaign as sparkling as their name with just three defeats from their 30 fixtures, culminating in four wins and a draw from their final batch of games at the home of English football.
That led to a final points return of 69, a tally 12 clear of nearest challengers Cannock United who had won the title in the previous two seasons.
"It was another great day of fixtures and a great way to finish off the season,” says Gavin Jones, Wolves Foundation’s community & cohesion officer who oversees the Disability football programme.
“This is the third year that the Gold team have played in the top division, and we have gone from fifth to third to winning the league, which is great progress.
“We had a decent lead going into the final fixtures at St George’s Park but picked up some more really good results to round it off in style.
“It has been a very solid season from the team – we haven’t conceded many goals which is often what they say that wins titles!
“It’s also been a really competitive league with some good teams played in a good spirit – a lot of the other players were congratulating our lads after the title was confirmed.
“Disability football is all about inclusion and giving people the chance to play but it’s also very competitive which is part of the enjoyment.”
Wolves Disability FC run eight teams in total – three at adult level, two at under-16s and two at under-12s – and the opportunity to play league and cup fixtures at St George’s Park is just one of the many advantages of featuring in the Staffs Ability Counts League.
The final day fixtures for the adult teams, sponsored by Nuffield Health, came just a fortnight after England’s men’s team had been training at the venue, and at a time when the women’s team had been based there ahead of their Euro 2025 qualifiers.
For Wolves Disability, a pathway is in place for players to move up through the age groups and also for others to try and join the respective squads, thanks to a Monday night session which started up this season in addition to the teams’ training on a Wednesday.
Those weekly sessions at the City of Wolverhampton College’s Bilston Campus on Wellington Road offer people the chance to participate but also progress to be considered for the teams if they show promise.
It is working too - one such player who first started at the Monday sessions notched a hat trick for the Foundation’s team in the Championship league last weekend.
Anyone interested in playing or finding out more about Wolves Disability FC can email gavinjones@wolves.co.uk.
