Most Saturdays, an adapted football programme happens at South Auckland's Kolmar Centre, powered by whānau, volunteers and Papatoetoe United. 

It's a programme that gets young players with different abilites enjoying all the heath and social benefits of football - playing varities of the game that are tailored to their ability. 

"The idea is to get all of the kids to have an equal number of touches of the ball," said parent Geoff Bold. "There's a variety of abilites, and some kids are faster than others, the role of the parents is to steer the game so all of the kids have a good chance to get a good go." 

"We're super grateful to the club, because without them we woudn't have been able to keep going all these years. We're grateful to coaches Paul and Sarah for the time they give up to help our kids," said parent Marlene Green. 

"The kids come in and leave with a big smile on their face. A lot of the time I'll give them control of what they want to do, it's all about them feeling included and part of the team," said coach Sarah Murphy. 

"We'd love to build this programme up, there's absolutely potential to expand this for participants and building up our deliverers' capabilities - we'd love to see this in other clubs," said NRF's Harrison Pascoe. 

Article added: Friday 11 November 2022