Coverage of all six disability cup finals will be made available on TV and via live streaming with various accessibility options
BT Sport will be the exclusive home of the FA Disability Cup this weekend and for the next three years, having signed a deal with the governing body. This means live coverage of all six different cup finals, all taking place this Saturday (June 11) and Sunday (June 12) will be available to watch on TV and via live stream on BT Sport.
The weekend's action, starting on Saturday 11 June, will feature a separate cup final for players who are: partially sighted, amputee, blind, cerebral palsy suffering, powerchair using and deaf. Teams from across the country who have made it this far will battle it out in each of those finals to be declared FA Cup winners.
This year's FA Disability Cup will take place at St. George's Park, the training hub of England Football.
The cup is taking place in conjunction with EE who, as Lead Partner of England Football and Wembley Stadium, are attempting to support and nurture disabiity football across the country, on and off the pitch. Their work focuses not only on the players themselves but disabled spectators and their ability to enjoy games.
This three year deal between BT Sport and the FA Disability Cup continues the existing relationship between the two, with the broadcaster having also provided coverage for last season's finals.
While showcasing the elite in English disability football on the small screen, BT Sport is committed to making the viewing experience as accessible as possible. This is why enhanced audio description, provided by an expert on location, will be made available, as well as British sign language and subtitles, across BT Sport 1, BT Sport 3 and BT Sport Extra 1, as the festival of disability football unfolds throughout the day.
Across those three BT Sport channels, viewers will be treated to a panel of presenters and pundits weighing in on the action including Paralympic medalist, Ade Adepitan, seven-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockcroft and BT Sport presenter Lynsey Hipgrave.
What is the schedule for this weekend's FA Disability Cup?
Coverage will begin at 10.00 on both Saturday 11 June and Sunday 12 June, and will go on to include all six FA Disability Cup finals. Here is how the six matches are scheduled to take place:
Saturday 11 June
Partially Sighted Final: Merseyside Futsal vs Birmingham Futsal
Amputee Final: Portsmouth Amputees vs Manchester City Amputees
Blind Final: RNC Hereford vs Brighton
Sunday 12 June
Cerebal Palsy Final: CP Northwest vs North East & Yorkshire CP FC
Powerchair Final: Northern Thunder vs West Bromwich Albion
Deaf Final: St John's DFC vs Farsley Celtic DFC
The FA Disability Cup is the largest competition of its kind in the country and offers players up and down the land something to drive towards, a target to reach for, and for those lucky few, the opportunity to live out their dreams by playing in and hopefully winning an FA Cup final.
As well as being on TV, the action will also be available via live streaming on BT Sport's Facebook page and the BT Sport app, which is available on most mobile devices including smartphones, tablets and games consoles.
For those unable to watch the action live, Channel 4 will be providing highlights of the six cup finals the following weekend - on Saturday 18th June at 12pm. The program will also subsequently be available on demand on their All 4 platform.
What is the reaction to this FA Disability Cup agreement?
Baroness Sue Campbell, The FA’s Director of Women's Football and the organisation’s Strategic Co-Lead for Disability Football, said:
“This year’s FA Disability Cup is back bigger and better than ever before and we are delighted that the action will once again be broadcast live on BT Sport as part of a new three-year commitment.
“We hope the exposure will give even more players the confidence to return or take the first step on their disability football journey and would encourage everyone to tune into the action for what promises to be a thrilling weekend of football.”
Pete Jeavons, BT & EE Marketing Communications Director, said:
“As lead partner of The FA, EE is committed to boosting disability football in this country by offering more opportunities and greater exposure at every level of the game and we look forward to working with The FA as disability football continues to grow.”
Jamie Hindhaugh, Head of BT Sport, said:
“Last year’s FA Disability Cup was a great success with two days of highly competitive, fantastic football broadcast live on BT Sport and we’re looking forward to more of the same this year.”
The FA Disability Cup is attempting to do so much for disabled players across the country, as well as disabled specators, and in conjunction with EE and BT Sport, the FA hopes that this year's finals will prove a resounding success - a huge part of that will be the coverage provided by the broadcaster.
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