Cost is the single biggest barrier standing between disabled women and football. This year, Cambridge City FC broke new ground by launching the UK's first Women's Amputee Football Club Level Team. The squad is made up of 18 limb-different and amputee women and girls, ranging from complete beginners to World Cup-level players, all united by a shared love of the game.
But access isn't free. Monthly training sessions at Cambridge City FC don't just build football skills, they give female amputees a rare chance to connect with a disabled community that understands their journey. Without funding, that access simply doesn't exist for many of these players.
The barrier goes further still. There is currently no women's amputee football league in the UK, so to compete at all, the team has to travel abroad, to Poland, where a new women's amputee league launches in 2027. That means covering travel, accommodation and competition costs on top of everyday training, for a group of players many of whom already face additional financial pressures tied to disability.
Every part of this, the training, the community, the chance to compete, depends on removing that cost barrier. As Captain Isabelle Papandronicou puts it: "The impact of football for helping with an amputee's physical and mental health is so important. It allowed me to truly accept my disability and find a family of female amputee's that completely understand my struggles in life. I believe that if I had been given these opportunities at a younger age it would have massively helped me through my journey and I want to provide this for the next generation!"
Funding here doesn't just support a football team. It removes the one obstacle standing between disabled women and a sport that changes lives.
