Side play first home fixtures
History was made recently when the community came together to watch the newly-formed Pompey Amputee side play their first home fixtures.
They took on Arsenal and Peterborough, with three sides treating the crowd to six tightly-contested and high-skilled matches.
There was also a taster session for junior amputee players to continue their development, a visit from Blues defender Christian Burgess and a cup competition
There was also a taster session for junior amputee players to continue their development, a visit from Blues defender Christian Burgess and a cup competition
Pompey in the Community (PitC) invited spectators and local partners to help raise awareness of the sport and hopefully attract new players.
Park Community provided the perfect environment, with fans able to buy refreshments in the cafeteria, where our partners from the Portsmouth Enablement Centre, Portsmouth Sitting Volleyball, Irwin Mitchell Solicitors and Hampshire FA provided information stalls for those who were interested.
Arsenal were able to unearth new talent, allowing one new player to take part in the games and another to join in with the warm-ups, while Peterborough won all four of their fixtures to lift the first ever Irwin Mitchell Cup.
However, the moment that received the greatest reaction from those present was when Pompey’s youngest player bore down on goal and coolly finished to put his side 2-0 up against Arsenal and secure a first competitive victory.
Michael Pink, disability co-ordinator at PitC, said: “It truly was a great day. Not only was their some fantastic football on show, but there was togetherness from all and ultimately a greater understanding of the amputee game that will hopefully have people talking for a long time to come.”
Adam Lea, PitC’s commercial and marketing manager, added: “It goes to show the power of football in raising awareness on another form of the beautiful game.
“Seeing the passion from the players and the fans demonstrates that there are many teams associated with Pompey that there is much support and admiration for.
"This is something that you might struggle to find at other clubs.”
"This is something that you might struggle to find at other clubs.”
PitC would like to extend their thanks to all involved and reserve a special mention for the Portsmouth Amputee FC players and staff, who certainly did their club proud!