Pioneering new mixed indoor 5-a-side league for men and women launched in Aylesbury

A new amateur competition is being launched at Stoke Mandeville Stadium (SMS) on Thursday (22 September).

The league will have games every Thursday, kicking off at 7.10pm in the stadium’s sports hall.

Guy Baber, contract manager for the site said: “I’m super excited about our first ever 5-a-side league at the stadium. I’d really like to see our league attract plenty of women’s teams, but we’re open to everyone, so give us a call if you’ve got a team.

“At the stadium, we’ve got a café serving hot food and quality beers, to help players celebrate after a game or maybe drown their sorrows after a particularly heavy loss.

“We want this league to be a welcoming place for players of all shapes and sizes and abilities, so if you’ve developed an interest in the game off the back of the Lionesses’ amazing recent win, why not start playing the sport instead of just watching it.”

The brains behind SMS 5s is stadium Technical Manager, Jay Hogg, who used to play semi- professionally for Wealdstone Town in the National League, before injury curtailed his football career.

He said: “We already run very successful walking football sessions at the stadium, but I feel this place is crying out for an indoor 5-a-side league. We’ve attracted a number of teams so far, but there’s room for more. If you’re interested in playing or have a team already in place, give me or my colleague Elliot Badrick a call, and we’ll get you signed up.”

Stoke Mandeville Stadium has a large free car park for customers. Any people interested in signing up should call Jay - 07788 713 887 or Elliot (Inclusive sport and fitness manager) – 07738 896 669.

Each team pays £35 per game and will be overseen by fully qualified referees.

All players should be aged over 18.

More information can be found on the SMS website.

Stoke Mandeville Stadium is operated by More Community Leisure Trust in partnership with Serco Leisure and on behalf of WheelPower, the national charity for wheelchair sports.