The past perfect football partnership of Withe and Shaw will re-emerge today (Wednesday May 21) at 10.30am in Harborne, as ex-Aston Villa footballer, Gary Shaw, presents visually impaired footballers from Queen Alexandra College (QAC) with medals and a trophy. The QAC football team coached by Jason Withe, also a former footballer, has gained second division success as they top the Futsal League - which is part of British Blind Sport (BBS).
Gary will link up with his past team-mate’s son, Jason Withe, whose father is ex-Aston Villa footballer, Peter Withe. Jason is the Sports Coach at QAC, and today both he and Gary will congratulate QAC’s football team at 10.30am in the Main Hall of the College. Gary will present the visually impaired footballers with their awards.
Jason helped to coach the footballers to beat competitors such as Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, Swansea City and South Shields to become top of division two.
The tournament was a round-robin competition, where every team in a group took turns to play one another a set number of times, prior to the knock-out stage. The final match of the tournament was played on neutral turf at Telford College last month (Saturday April 26).
Jason Withe, QAC Sports Coach, said: “I’m really pleased with our success, I always knew the team could do it and they’ve proved me right.
“I’m particularly happy with the improvement, hard work and commitment that the players have put in regarding training. I’ve laid down a set of ethics for players which include, enjoyment, fair play, respect to all (including referees) and raising fitness levels.
“Winning has really boosted morale for the team, and that has extended to the rest of the College. The players have had a lot of support, and returned to College to cheers of congratulations.
“Hopefully the presentation today will show other students at the College that having a disability isn’t a barrier to sporting ambitions.”
QAC football player, Simon Breed, was named Player of the Tournament and Chris Garland as named Top Goal Scorer.
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