Football Victoria (FV) is proud to announce its inaugural Powerchair Football team, who will represent Victoria in a number of exhibition matches later this month.
Powerchair football is a modified form of the world game for those who use an electric wheelchair for everyday life and is played on an indoor basketball court with four players per side.
Victoria's Team Manager Skip Fulton said the team has a "great mix" of players, including three who are a part of the Poweroos squad aiming for selection to represent Australia at the World Cup next year.
"The players have been training consistently over the last few months since the Australian Club Championships in May," he said.
"This will be a great opportunity to play against the best from New South Wales and South Australia.
"Whilst the development camp isn't a tournament and there are no trophies on offer, the squad isn't holding back. The players are looking forward to receiving their Nike kit from Football Victoria and rolling out to represent their state."
Powerchair Football has been played competitively in Victoria for over five years with Melbourne City FC and South Melbourne FC participating. These clubs have the opportunity to travel annually to Sydney to compete in the Australian Club Championships.
The Australian National Championships were last held in 2018 and with the Powerchair Football World Cup being hosted in Sydney in 2023, FV is playing its part in helping develop and prepare players to compete on the international stage.
A development camp is being held across five days in late October at Melbourne Sports Centre, Parkville. The camp will bring together members of the national team, the Australian Poweroos, together with clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
FV has partnered with Powerchair Sports Victoria to launch Team Victoria who will play exhibition matches against Football NSW and OneCulture South Australia.
Eight players were selected to be part of the team for this month's development camp:
- Luke David (Captain), Melbourne City FC
- Bec Evans, Melbourne City FC
- Shaun Mott, South Melbourne FC
- Shaun Millet, Melbourne City FC
- Chris Kessaris, South Melbourne FC
- Ryan Deaton, Melbourne City FC
- Jules North-Coombes, Melbourne City FC
- David MacPherson, South Melbourne FC
- Robert Wright (Coach)
- Skip Fulton (Team Manager)
- Rebecca Gulle (Technical Director)
The exhibition matches are being held at Melbourne Sports Centres Parkville and the community is encouraged to attend with free entry for all the games:
- Friday, October 28, 1pm - Football Victoria vs Football NSW Development
- Friday, October 28, 3pm - Football Victoria vs Football NSW
- Saturday, October 29, 10am - Football Victoria vs OneCulture South Australia