Rosie Dack: “Powerchair Football was a lifeline for me”

Rosie Dack found her love for Powerchair Football after having an accident due to her disability that resulted in her becoming wheelchair bound.

Joining Powerchair Football at the age of 9, Rosie earned the nickname ‘Beast from the East’, after scoring 10 goals in a 22-0 victory on the same weekend England was hit with a storm of the same name. Since then, she has continued to take the sport by storm participating in the Champions League, Disability Cup and Premiership. She has also been called up to play for England and currently coaches at the team that introduced her to the sport.

I sat down with Rosie to discuss her journey into Powerchair Football, the Disability Cup and her successes so far.

In primary school, after her accident, Rosie found herself unable to participate in playground games with her friends. She was recommended disability sports by her physio to help keep her from feeling isolated and that is where her journey began.

Her first attempt at a disability sport was wheelchair basketball but her condition made it challenging. One day, she turned up to training in a powerchair and upon seeing this, her teammate put her in contact with Norwich City PFC. After much deliberation, Rosie went for her first trial at the club and fell in love with the sport. She told her mum she wants to try football and she hasn’t look back since. 

After spending four years at Norwich, Rosie moved to Muscle Warriors for a year before their sister club, Aspire, asked if she wanted to join their team. Joining Aspire gave her the opportunity to play alongside England captain Jon Bolding and she gave major credit to him in making her the player she is today.

Aspire are one of the best teams in England and since Rosie’s arrival have been in the Disability Cup final six times, winning four of those.  The Disability Cup is the Powerchair Football version of the FA Cup and has attracted the attention of TNT Sports who cover the matches.

Rosie described the Disability Cup as the pinnacle of Powerchair Football and is proud that it has been given coverage for the general public to see. She feels if the sport continues to get coverage, people will get hooked and the awareness will grow.

The Finals are held at St George’s park which Rosie described as the Powerchair Football’s version of Wembley. She commented on how playing at the training ground of England gave her a sense of pride and how surreal it was to be in the same grounds as Alessia Russo, Mary Earps and Wayne Rooney.

Since joining the sport 13 years ago, Rosie has an impressive trophy cabinet having won two Premierships, two Championships, four Disability Cups, 3 Regional Titles, 2 Regional Golden Boots, 10 Team Golden Boots and has played in the Champions League twice. She is also part of a team that has been ranked fourth best in Europe yet she is still extremely ambitious and wants to see where the sport can take her. One of her hopes is to get Powerchair Football in to the Paralympics and to represent her country, in a sport she loves, on a global stage.

Rosie stated that Powerchair Football “was a lifeline” for her during a difficult period of her life and has continued to be a major part of her life, showing how much the sport impacts its players lives positively.

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