Free weekly pan-disability football for ages 9 to 17 and adults at Meriden Community Centre, a new Thursday multi-sport club, and two half-term camps.

Children and adults with special educational needs or a disability can now play free weekly football in Meriden. Watford FC’s community trust runs the sessions every Friday at Meriden Community Centre. With council funding, it is also starting a weekly multi-sport club there.

Watford Borough Council announced the sessions on 15 October and describes them as free. They are part of a programme the trust calls Make Every Player Count.

When and who for

The trust’s own page lists:

Session When Ages
Pan-disability football Fridays, 4pm to 5pm Adults, 18 and over
Pan-disability football Fridays, 5pm to 6pm 9 to 17
SEN and pan-disability multi-sport Thursdays, 4.30pm to 5.30pm 9 to 14
Half-term football camp Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 October, 10am to 2pm 9 to 16

All four are at Meriden Community Centre, Garsmouth Way, WD25 9ET. The centre has a 3G artificial pitch, 61 metres by 43 metres, plus changing rooms and a main hall, according to the trust’s venue page.

“Pan-disability” means the sessions are open to people with any kind of disability, rather than one group. The trust says activities are adapted “to suit different abilities, needs and levels of football experience”. It says the camps suit young people who are new to football as well as those who already play.

Why it matters

The two camp days are the Monday and Tuesday of half term for schools on the Hertfordshire calendar. The council’s release describes the sessions as free; neither the council nor the trust gives a price for the camps, so check when you book.

The release says the multi-sport club is being launched “with funding from the council”. It does not say how much.

Meriden Community Centre reopened in November 2016 after almost £2 million of investment and a full refurbishment, the trust says. The trust lists it among its own facilities.

What it means for you

  • To book, use the trust’s bookings site and pick “Disability Football” from the activity list, or follow the links on the trust’s SEN page.
  • The camps are only two days, so book early if you need childcare cover.
  • Everything else on in town over the break is on our Watford October half term page.