Assistant coach Perry Tsangas and head coach George Tsangas pose with their award-winning goalkeeper Christian Tsangas at this years National Tournament.

The players of the Northcote City 7 football team share the same dreams as any other Aussie team. They dream of the day when they will put on the green and gold jersey to proudly represent their country.
They are young adults, from 13 to 30 years of age; they live and breathe football and have the same aspirations – to fight for the colours of their team and their nation. But, the team isn’t your regular grassroots group, they play with a ferocity unrivalled by their professional brothers. The team is made up of players with a physical or intellectual disability. The pitch doesn’t discriminate against physical or intellectual limitations, it thrives on pure talent.
After partnering with Victorian charity organisation Disability Sports & Recreation, to provide young Victorian adults with a disability the opportunity to play football, Northcote City FC formed its very own seven-a-side football development program.
As such, it is the only Greek sponsored team in the whole of Victoria that offers the only certified program of this type. And more importantly, it has pathways to the Paralympic competition and the Pararoos. Seven-a-side football is Paralympic sport played by people with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury or stroke.
“Northcote City is pretty much the only club that is running a disability program for football in Victoria. There is another one, Northern Falcons, based in Thornbury, which deals only with intellectual disability. We have around 10-15 participants in our program,” head coach of the Northcote City disability team, George Tsangas, tells Neos Kosmos.
Coaches are of crucial importance in the life of the athletes. It is needless to say how important the figure of a coach is in the life of young adults with a disability, those who may face discrimination on an everyday basis.
Through the power of sport, this disability development program currently running at Northcote City is transforming the lives of children and adults who, as George characteristically says, feel excluded in most things.
“They get left out, they miss out on a lot of opportunities out there in the real world. A lot of them are 18, 19 years old, struggling to find work, so it’s quite challenging for them.
“They absolutely love it, they feel like professional footballers, true athletes,” George says.
Through sport, all can feel accepted and included – especially those with disability. For former Northcote City senior player and juniors’ coach, George Tsangas, and his assistant coach and brother Perry Tsangas, working with people with disability is as rewarding as it is challenging.
“We treat these kids more or less the same as able-bodied people. Recovery is different, training sessions are different. We are focusing on their movements – it’s more agility work and incorporating football and balance, so it’s a little bit different to working with kids who haven’t got disability. But it’s very rewarding.”
It was the technical director of Northcote juniors, Socrates Nicolaidis – on whose initiative the Hercules Boys proved their strength – who not only aided the team on the field, but also helped people with disability get active and found Northcote City’s disability squad.
The football they play is on a reduced size field, with smaller goal posts. Each match consists of two 30 minute halves. The main difference that separates it from able bodied football is the off-side rule does not apply in the game.
And while other Australian states like NSW are big on disability football and supported by their football federations, Victoria has fallen by the wayside.
To take part in the annual National Tournament, the money has to be raised by the Victorian State Disability team. The tournament, that finished last week in Coffs Harbour, NSW, is the highlight of the year and the only chance for true competition, as Victoria doesn’t have its own league for disability football.
Being a head coach for the Victorian seven-a-side football state team as well, George says this is when the football community comes together. The outpouring of support comes from different organisations, and Greek sponsored teams like Northcote City, Heidelberg United, Alexander, raise money for the state disability team.
“In Victoria, we need more participants and more financial support. Currently, there is no funding mechanism to help state team get to Nationals. We are supported by the Northcote City club, while the association with Melbourne Heart just started three months ago. There is also Disability Sports & Recreation, the main organiser,” George says.
“NSW is pretty much a benchmark for us, the level we aspire to reach. A lot of their players represent the Pararoos, the Australian national disability team, that gets to compete in World Cups and Paralympics.”
To convince them they are on a great path to achieve something similar, Northcote City and Victorian State Team goalkeeper Christian Tsangas was voted best goalkeeper at the recent National Tournament and best Victorian player.
“We have no league, as we are not big enough for it. We try to play with intellectually disabled kids from Northern Falcons FC, or we organise games with Northcote City juniors. And that is always a great challenge for our disability team and a great game for both sides. If we can get a small league happening in future, that would be the perfect scenario,” George explains.
“My message would be for clubs to promote disability football, and maybe try to develop their own squads; get the message out there to hospitals and other organisations that deal with disabilities. I am certain there are a lot of potential participants out there that don’t even know about the program,” he concludes.
For more information about Northcote City Disability team and to donate, contact George Tsangas on 0408 779 970, or Perry Tsangas 0410 219 031.
For further information on how to get involved with your club, contact Disability Sport & Recreation on (03) 9473 0133.