A FOOTBALL club for disabled players has appealed for sponsors after suffering during the pandemic.

Manager Christopher McGinty has built Bury Boys and Girls Disability FC up from humble beginnings but is still struggling to pay the bills after years without a sponsor.

The club accommodates players with an array of physical and mental disabilities, including ADHD, autism, and mental health issues, from the ages of 16 to 40 and plays in the Greater Manchester Ability Counts Football League and Open Age Division.

Mr McGinty said: “We’ve been struggling for years to get a sponsor.

"But I’m not going to give up. It’s ridiculous and disappointing that so many of the people we have contact have either not replied or flat-out rejected us.

“But I’m not giving up, it’s just a shame no-one seems to want to associate with us.

“Ideally we would want to be sponsored by a sports team, one with the money to support us and help us out and we can do them just as big of a favour by wearing their kit, which is advertising for them.

“For the lads that come here, it would mean so much for them to wear the kit of a big company, and would be such a source of pride for them.

“I’ve been a long-serving player at this team, it helped me out a lot because I had dyslexia at school, and it’s done so much.

“It gives them a sense of confidence and I want to carry on being able to give them that, which is why a sponsor would make everything so much better.

“This wouldn’t just benefit me and the players, but Bury as a whole because we are a community club.”

Brandon Wilkinson has benefitted from his membership at the club, getting help with mental health issues.

He said he and Christopher have contacted several companies on social media but rarely get a response and are becoming desperate as the club struggles financially.

Brandon said: “I’ve been going to this club for about six months and it means so much to me, it is just a nice place for people who may not want to approach other teams for whatever reason.

“It’s somewhere you can go and be successful no matter what your level of ability is, and you can be proud of yourself and be accepted into a community.”