Beijing place for CP Lions

By Paul Carter

England’s cerebral palsy (cp) football team secured a place at the Beijing Paralympics after finishing seventh at the cp seven-a-side World Championships in Brazil.

Despite competing in temperatures into the 90s, the team qualified after overcoming the Republic of Ireland  6-1 in their seventh and eighth place play-off match in Rio de Janeiro.

Two goals apiece from Wayne Ward and Michael Barker, along with strikes from Richard Fox and Andy Taylor, saw England confirm their superiority.

The cp team’s qualification follows that of the England blind team, who qualified back in October (Disability Now November 2007,
Sport Now).

Both sides will compete as Great Britain in Beijing, marking the first time a Great Britain football team has competed at the Paralympics since Barcelona in 1992.

Phil Lane, chief executive of Paralympics GB, said: “I’d like to congratulate the team on this achievement. Paralympics GB is delighted to be able to take two British football teams to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, which is a great sign for the sport ahead of the home Games in London in 2012.”