Powerchair Football: Break the Bias

Along with having challenges presented by her disability, Rosie Dack has also been faced with discrimination in Powerchair Football because of her gender.

Since the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020, the figures of female participation in Powerchair Football have fallen drastically. Rosie shared how being a female player in a male dominated sport has been very tough and she has been a target of discrimination multiple times. She elaborated on her challenges describing how she has been sidelined, excluded from teams and left out because she is a female.

When asked how she thinks Powerchair Football can be made more inclusive, Rosie stated that “sanctions and regulations need to be put in place, for example setting a minimum number of females that need to be on the pitch per game would ensure there was always a female playing, this would make it an equal playing field”. Her aim is to increase the number of females in the sport to a point where they “are no longer a minority but are equal”.

The Wheelchair Football Association (WFA) seem to share this goal. A way the WFA have worked to encourage more females to get into Powerchair Football is by hosting female only events to promote Powerchair Football to girls who may not be aware of it and create a space for females in the sport to share their passion.

These events were introduced in 2019 to bring both players and coaching staff in the sport together and give them “a sense of community”. Rosie commented that the event meant a lot because it bought together members of a minority group and “females in our sport have faced a lot of obstacles so having days where we can come together makes it seem as though it’s us girls against the world”.

Although these events were well received, they sadly have only happened twice due to a lack of funding, with the last South England female based event being held in January 2020. Unfortunately, lack of funding is another barrier females face in Powerchair Football. The limited budget that is allocated to females in this sport could also be a reason more females do not get involved as there is less money for publicity.

After shedding countless tears, Rosie has become determined to ensure her experiences aren’t faced by others and has consequently taken care to develop an all-inclusive team at Norwich City PFC where she now coaches. To enhance her role model status, Rosie wanted to give back to Norwich City PFC who helped her first fall in love with Powerchair Football and so she started coaching their team whilst playing for Aspire.

Norwich City PFC currently have three females in the team with six females in the club overall and has representation across different ethnicities, sexual orientations and beliefs. This is how Rosie intends to break the bias and be an example of the change she wants to see in the game. There needs to be more female representation, not only in mainstream football but also in Powerchair Football.

Rosie ended the interview with the powerful statement “we need to inspire the next generation of females”.

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