Bootle Bucks Inclusion FC Football Festival

Over 60 teams participated in the tournament, with teams from Sheffield, Northern Ireland, South Wales, Bradford and even some local Merseyside teams traveling to the Berry Street Garage Stadium, home of Bootle FC, to take part in the two day event.

Different age levels ranging from U10, U13, U16 and Open Age, with the U10, U13 and U16s matches took place on the Saturday, with the Sunday being for the Open Age.

Bootle Bucks Inclusion FC was set up in April 2018 by a group of friends supporting Bootle Football Club as there was a gap for inclusion football. This was to offer challenged children and adults a pathway to play the beautiful game. From an initial membership of around 15 in April 2018, the club now holds over 200 players on a Saturday morning at the Berry Street Garage Stadium.

I spoke with co-chairman John Rice a few months back about the formation of The Bucks "We started The Bucks after a chat between me and John Doran (another co-chairman) in late 2017. We talked about the lack of football provision in the area for kids with a disability especially for the kids we were working with at the time. In Sefton the disability football had stopped for a couple of years and we were confident we could get a handful of players to make a team so went for it with help from John Callaghan, Gareth Ace and Keith Woodhouse".

The aims for the future of the Bucks are clear "We aim to grow and grow. There is no end to what we do. We will be as big as we can and aim to get as many of those players out there that have ever thought they couldn't be part of a team into one."

Having spent the first years training at Hawthorne Road, Bootle Bucks Inclusion FC and Bootle FC came into partnership in March 2021, including their own pitchside container and access to the pitch and astro-turf to train in the morning.

After the first football festival hosted last August, including grabbing the attention of Sky Sports presenter Johnny Phillips and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher was a raging success, a second one was a no brainer.

Months of preparation, including sorting sponsors, teams, referees for the big day took its course since the official announcement in March this year.

As the crack of dawn rose on Saturday morning, the weekend of football fun began. The pitch was split into quarters, with the astro-turf in use to play host to the matches. There were plenty of medals and trophies on show, with the name of the sponsors engraved on the trophies.

It was a format of a group stage containing 6 teams and a final, with all age groups getting to play a final and a chance of lifting a trophy. The games were 7-a-side with 12 minute matches.

To see the smiles on the kids' faces playing the beautiful game was a sight to see and the joy of lifting up a cup as they won the final, living dreams that most kids have of playing football, showing the beauty of inclusion sport. The voluntary coaches are looking forward to a well earned break. With the right finances, backing and people taking note of how special it really is. Inclusion football can thrive in the next years and beyond.

My thoughts on the two days

I played both days. Under 16s Saturday and Sunday for the adults. Don’t get me wrong it was tough graft as my legs were destroyed, but that’s what it’s about and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Saturday went well, but losing out in the final against a fellow Bootle team. A tight, competitive feisty game, which you expect when you play your own side. But the Sunday was special, being with the lads I play with for the adults. Winning 7 out of 8, including the main final, even scoring myself. It meant a lot to me and the group we had seeing how made up we were to lift the cup. A special, special feeling. If next years is anything as close as we have witnessed for the first two, it’d be another special occasion and one I’m looking forward to.