It’s been ten years since Fulham Football Club Foundation set up the very first Down’s syndrome football team in London.

The ‘Badgers’ Football Team as they are known have had a pretty spectacular ten years.

They have played football against the Eastenders cast, played tournaments in Hong Kong and Norway and hosted the very first Football Association and DSActive Football tournament.

They have also grown, with over fifty young people attending their weekly Football and Tennis programmes.

They celebrated their 10 year anniversary in style, with a tournament held at their brand new state of the art indoor football facility at Motspur Park.

In attendance was Queens Park Rangers Football Club, Charlton Athletic Football Club, Crystal Palace Football Club and of course the ‘Badgers’ of Fulham.

Over sixty young people competed on the day, with the Charlton Athletic Football Club Upbeats proving just too strong for the other teams. The Charlton Athletic Upbeats had two teams in the final and were assured the coveted Badgers Cup and Runners-up trophies.

The young people also had a chance to play some tennis, with the Tennis Foundation coaches leading sessions throughout the day. We rounded-off the day with an award ceremony, where every young person was presented with a medal by Billy the Badger.

Kieran Crombie, the Sport and Education Manager at Fulham Football Club said “it’s been fantastic to see the Badgers thrive, with more young people with Down’s syndrome accessing our programmes than ever before. Today, we wanted to celebrate the young people’s successes, as well as the vital support of the volunteers, parents, carers, guardians who have made this all possible.”