In 2018, Stags launched their own blind football team, Mansfield Town Blind FC, which aims to provide more opportunities for visually impaired people to get involved in the sport.
The project is ran by England blind international and Stags’ fan Nathan Edge, alongside coach Pete Jones-Hall.
Mansfield Town Blind FC’s initial goal is to engage more people in the local area in the sport, with a long term plan of eventually fielding a team in the National Blind League. The team have received funding from the FA’s ‘Grow the Game’ scheme, with support from the Radford Foundation.
The team’s captain, Nathan Edge, said: “I’m very excited to be working on this project alongside Pete.
“I’ve known Pete for many years now before introducing him to blind football just over a year ago in a coaching capacity, and I feel he shares the same passion and enthusiasm as I do to make this project a success.”
Mansfield Town Blind FC hosted their first session on Sunday 26 August, and sessions have taken place on every Sunday from then onwards. The sessions will take place on the 3G pitches at One Call Stadium.
To begin with, players must be over 16 years of age, with the sessions open to any gender. The club welcomes both beginners and experienced players.
Players’ level of sight for blind football must be classified as either B1 or B2. For more information on sight classification, please visit https://britishblindsport.org.uk/educationandresearch/classifications/.
To enquire about Mansfield Town Blind FC, please contact blindfootball@mansfieldtown.net.
