Wolves Disability FC clocking up the miles
At the moment, they have probably just about made it to Austria, but Wolves Disability FC are ready to put their collective feet on the gas and clock up the miles as part of their World Cup fundraising challenge.
The Disability team, run by Wolves Foundation, has embarked on a virtual challenge to make it from Wolverhampton to Qatar during the World Cup, covering the distance however they can between now and the Final which takes place on December 17th.
As well as helping to boost the fitness of the players as they continue to train and play fixtures this season, any funds they can raise will also be a big boost.
Wolves Disability play their football in the Staffordshire Ability Counts League and run eight teams in total, three at adult level, three at Under-16s and two at Under-12s.
The team are without a sponsor for the current season and have to generate their own income whether through fundraising efforts or subs from players and parents.
“We were having a chat about what we could do during the World Cup to engage the team and give us something to focus on and the idea we came up with was this particular challenge,” says Gavin Jones, Inclusion Lead with Wolves Foundation and coach of the adult disability team.
“The idea is that, between the coaches and players, we have to cover the distance between Molineux and Doha, which we have worked out is over 4,000 miles!
“That can be however any of the players are able to do it – walking, jogging, cycling, on a treadmill, a rowing machine, whatever people want to do.
“We launched it all by using the gym equipment at The Way Youth Zone at the start of the tournament and our plan is to try and complete the distance before the end of the World Cup which, given we’ve had a bit of a slow start, is going to be quite a challenge!”
Jones is being joined by fellow coaches Mark Bromley, Matt Elcock and Louis Guttridge in aiming to clock up the miles and the challenge has also been extended to younger members of the teams and their parents in pursuit of the target.
The captain Daz James, who has previously carried out some long-distance cycling challenges of his own, is also off and running and covered 60km within the first week.
“We are hoping it is a challenge which will not only help fitness levels and raise funds, but also continue to develop team spirit and camaraderie,” adds Gavin.
The team have a fundraising page - https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/wolvesdisability2022 - where fans can support them as they aim to reach Qatar within the next two weeks.
