Braving torrential rain and winds of 40 miles per hour, 148 DSActive players representing 13 DSActive teams came together at The Albion Foundation in West Bromwich on Sunday, 29th April. The festival was made possible thanks to a donation of £10,250 from the Premier League and Football Aid benefitting the Down’s Syndrome Association (DSA). DSA Patron and professional footballer Kevin Kilbane added his full support by leading the warm-up and cheering from the touch line whilst the games were underway.

The 148 players represented the following DSActive teams throughout the UK

The Fulham Badgers
The QPR Tiger Cubs
The Charlton Upbeats
The Hereford United DS Bulls
The Ipswich Town Mini Tractors
The Norwich City DS Canaries
The Hull City Tigers Trust
The Cardiff City DS Bluebirds
Northampton Town DSActive
Coventry City DSActive
Sheffield United DSActive
Moorside Rangers DSActive
Newcastle United DSActive
DSActive Allstars*

* The DSActive All Star, were a hybrid team made up of players from across the UK.
After a warm-up, the players split into two groups; older (13 plus) and younger (12 and under). The 12 and under group engaged in football activities including ‘beat the goalie’ and a series of passing, shooting and dribbling games capping their day off with fun match. The 13 plus group played a round robin in six-a-side format with each match lasting 12 minutes, with each team playing four matches. At the end of play, the final league standings were as follows:

Red:
Cardiff City DS Bluebirds
Charlton Upbeats (Red)
Ipswich Town Mini Tractors
Norwich City DS Canaries
QPR Tiger Cubs (Red)

Blue:
Charlton Upbeats (Blue)
Fulham Badgers
Moorside Rangers (Blue)
Newcastle United
QPR Tiger Cubs (Blue)

Yellow:
Coventry City SBitC
DSActive Allstars
Hull City Tigers Trust
Moorside Rangers (Yellow)
Northampton Town FITC

* Hereford United and Sheffield United only had players in the younger groups.
**The Charlton Upbeats, QPR Tiger Cubs and Moorside Rangers each entered two teams into the tournament portion of the festival.

Charlton Upbeats Red took home the title for the red league with the Fulham Badgers claiming the title for the blue league and Coventry City SBitC capturing the title for the yellow league.

QPR Tiger Cubs Mum, Siân Chadwick, reflected on the day:
“I wanted to say a massive “THANK YOU” to you and all the team who organised the wonderful tournament at West Bromwich yesterday. Once again it was a really special day and as I watched James (12) running onto the pitch with the biggest smile on his face, I felt so happy and grateful that he has this opportunity. Being a member of the Tiger Cubs is a very big part of his life. I was particularly struck by the improvement in the skill level of so many of the players this year, and the great team work that many of them showed. Wonderful.”
Newcastle United Foundation DSActive coach, Reggie Dornan said:
“Having just launched our DSActive team on the 17th April; we were delighted to be able to bring our team to the Premier League’s Down’s Syndrome Football Festival. Although we have only been a team for a fortnight, it was great to experience our players jell together so quickly with the festival on the horizon. It is a brilliant opportunity for a group of boys and girls, who have come together in the space of two weeks to play for Newcastle United whom they love and support.”

DSA Patron and Professional Footballer Kevin Kilbane summed up the day:
“Building upon the success of last year’s festival, it was fantastic to see how the players had improved over the year and the programme has grown. It was wonderful to see five new teams participate in the festival experiencing their first competitive environment and loving every minute of it. I look forward to being able to join DSActive in more events.”

The DSActive programme aims to get as many children and young people with Down’s syndrome playing football in an environment that is comfortable yet competitive. The Premier League’s Down’s Syndrome Football Festival embraced this principle, showcasing the spectrum of talent and love of football of each and every DSActive player.

Congratulations to the league winners and all of the players! We look forward to seeing the rematches next year.

Parents and coaches alike gathered on Saturday, 18th February for what most East Anglians would describe as the real derby. The Norwich City CSF Canaries hosted the Ipswich Town Mini Tractors in a DSActive match-up that both sides had been clamouring for.

The two outfits were separated into under 16 and adult sides, with the two corresponding age-groups meeting on three occasions. The matches provided great entertainment for the parents and coaches, but mostly, for the players who were finally given the chance to demonstrate the skills they had acquired through their weekly training on a befitting stage.

Thankfully, however, the affair was considerably less fiery than its first-team counterpart and the matches were played in high spirits, with the over-zealous tackles substituted for smiles and cheers from both sets of supporters. The scores were not kept, and it was needless to say that football was the winner (unless of course you ask either team who will protest they edged it).

The Ipswich Town Mini Tractors were kindly offered pizza by their hosts, an offer they were never likely to refuse. The CSF Canaries made the short trip to Carrow Road to watch the City first team take on Leicester in the FA Cup, however the first-team were unable to emulate their CSF counterparts and crashed out of the competition. Needless to say the day was enjoyed by all despite the Canaries shortcomings.

The derby is set to be repeated in the coming months; fingers crossed the fixture is upheld in the same spirit!