PICTURES: Inverness Caley Thistle Community Trust para development officer excited by growth and engagement from across Highlands
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The Caledonian Stadium hosted 59 secondary school pupils at the start of this week for a para football festival.
It was the latest event in renewed efforts to grow the game for disabled people, spearheaded by ICT Trust para development officer Lewis Maclean.
In terms of sheer numbers, things are definitely going in the right direction – this was the second annual festival to be held at the stadium, and last year's event saw 43 youngsters attend across primary and secondary schools.
With some schools unable to attend this week, too, Maclean is confident that it can get even bigger and better in the future.
“It’s an initiative to reach out to those in the community with disabilities, and get them more connected to the football club," he said.
“We feel that playing festivals at the stadium is a big pull that will encourage people to come along.
“We always feel like we could be getting more – we thought we’d be up to around 70 – but it's good growth. Hopefully this time next year we'll be looking to hit triple digits."
There are big plans in place to increase the ICT Trust's offering across the Highlands – including developing a competitive team to play in Scottish leagues.
Extra staff from High Life Highland will also help expand their school offering, and reach areas like Thurso, Skye, Aviemore and Gairloch more frequently.
Already, up to 100 children with disabilities are being given the chance to play football, and the attendance at the ICT Trust's regular Monday session has quadrupled since last year.
“When I first started having conversations with people, there was so much need out there without having much to offer," Maclean explained.
“The more we have gone out, the more we have seen kids really appreciate it. I’m constantly getting calls from schools we aren’t in asking us to come, because kids want to be part of the club.
“I know the club is making a lot of effort to make the stadium more accessible too. They are putting in the steps to make sure that people with those needs can come along to the ground and enjoy the experience.
“We definitely do think that people are becoming more connected with the club, so it's a really exciting time with the focus on para football."
