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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Sam Cunningham

England cannot afford trip to amputee World Cup – and the FA will not help

England amputee football players Thomas Atkinson (left, standing, wearing a black goalkeeper's kit) hugs Martin Heald (right, having leapt to embrace Atkinson) after their team won the 2023 Amputee Nations League.
Thomas Atkinson (left) and Martin Heald (right) were part of the England team that won the first Amputee Nations League in 2023. Photograph: Paula Duda/European Amputee Football Federation

Every time Scott Rogers walks into St George’s Park there is a sign on the wall that catches his eye. It boasts that the 330-acre site is the proud home of all England’s football teams. “I look at it every time and go, ‘Well, not all of them’” Rogers says.

As head coach, Rogers guided the England men’s amputee team to the Nations League trophy in 2023. But while the Football Association funds six para national teams, amputee football is not among them.

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