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 11
MAY 2018 -
Spartans win the Championship -
The Spartans have won the South Yorkshire Ability Counts 5-a-side
Championship. They were unbeaten all season to take their first trophy
since joining the League 7 years ago. They are picture right with the
trophy and medals.
5 NOV 2017 -
Spartans take their tournament -
The Spartans held a tournament on Sunday 5 Nov at the Sheffield Goals
centre and they came away from it as winners, pipping Pontefract Colliers
on goal difference. Almost 50 players took part along with Spartans and
the Colliers with teams from Sheffield City Knights, Bradford City and
Doncaster Titans. Every team played each other, but everyone taking part
were the winners. Below from left to right are The Spartans with Bradford
Ciity; with Doncaster Titans; with their medals and collecting the trophy.
14 AUG -
Spartans take Bronze -
Three of the Spartans players,
Paul Stylianou, Jake Sharp and Sam Hayward, took a
glorious Bronze medal in the football tournament at the Special Olympics
in Sheffield, while another Spartan player, Matt Stokoe's team came 4th.
Group matches were played over 3 days and despite losing all their
matches on the first day, the Yorks & Humber side improved significantly
on the 2nd day, and a last minute equaliser in the last group match put
them into the Bronze Medal match against SE Region on the last day. South
East region, had beaten Y&H during the group stage and they took an early
2 goal advantage, but Y&H pulled back a goal in the first half and added 2
more to lead in the second half. SE equalised to take the match into extra
-time and would have won it but for 2 crucial saves by Paul Stylianou late
in the game. Spartans player Jake Sharp put Y&H ahead deep into added time
of the first period of extra time and the team added 2 more goals during
the second period of added time. The Y&H defence marshalled by Sam Hayward
made sure there was no way back for SE. Wild emotional celebrations ensued
that were witnessed by TV cameras from ITV Calender news who were filming
the match . It was a tough week physically, emotionally and mentally, but
lads proved that despite their disabilities that football is a level
playing field for all. Pictured left with their Bronze Medals is Jake
Ford, Sam Hayward and Paul Stylianou. The 4th player in the middle photo
is Matt Stokoe, while the 3rd phot shows the whole Y&H squad.
31-JULY -
Spartans get ready for the
Special Olympics -
The Sheffield Special Olympics football team, the Spartans, will have
four players in the Yorksire & Humberside squad playing in the forthcoming
Special Olympics to be played in Sheffield and which is due to have its
opening ceremony at Bramall Lane on Tuesday, 8 August. The Blades skipper
Billy Sharp is an ambassador for the games and Billy together with some of
his Blades team mates recently met the Spartans to offer them their
support - see pictures below. Picture 1 shows Billy having a game of beach
football with them; Picture 2 shows Billy with the shirt he donated;
Picture 3 includes fellow Blades James Hanson, Chris Basham and Jake
Wright; Pictures 4 & 5 include Blades keeper Jake Eastwood, who gave his
Spartans counterpart Paul Stylianou a set of his signed goalkeeper gloves to use
in the tournament. The football games will be at the Hallam Sports Centre
, Bawtry Rd on 9 &10th August 11.00-19.00 on 10th and 09.00-16.00 on 11th.
The opening ceremony at Bramall Lane on 8 August has a variety of
entertainment, which is headlined by Tony Hadley, Toseland and Britains
Got Talent's Kyle Tomlinson, while the presenters are Downtown Abbey's Jim
Carter, TV presenter Suzi Perry and the legendary ex-Blade Chris
Kamara - tickets, available to purchase at Bramall Lane, are just £8 for
adults, £6 for seniors and disabled and £5 for under 16s and students.
  31-May -
Spartans & Mansfield Town come out on top at
Goals -
Sheffield's Special Olympics team the Spartans held a mini tournament at
Goals in Sheffield in May and their efforts were rewarded as they were
one of two winners. The teams involved included Spartans, Mansfield
Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster Titans, with the two group
winners, Spartans and Mansfield Town, each receiving trophies from
Oliver Hurd, the manager of Goals Centre.
21 June -
Spartans 2015 Tournament -
The 2015
Tournament which featured 20 teams. In addition to the Spartans, there
was teams from Merseyside, Cheshire, Harrogate, Pontefract, Barnsley,
Thorne, Doncaster City Knights, Norfolk Lodge Lions and Sheffield
Wednesday. Pictured right is the Spartans in action against Barnsley.
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21 June -
Spartans in Spain -
The Spartans made their first ever club trip abroad to play in Spain.
They had a training session with their Estepona opponents before playing
a match against them. The Spartans also made a visit to the Malaga Stadium
and later saw Malaga entertain Seville in La Liga, with Seville winning
a thriller 3-2. The trip, made
possible with the help of the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA, the
Special Olympics organisation and the Blades Super Draw League, was a
fantastic experience for the Spartans. Pictured below are some of the
Spartans at Malaga Stadium along with pictures from their game with
Estepona.
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28-Feb
2015 – Spartans to go
International -
This summer the Spartans will undertake a short tour to
Malaga, Spain, where they will play
some games and get the chance to meet counterparts in Spain. To help
them on their way, the Blades Super Draw League has made a small
donation towards their costs. Pictured handing over the cheque to some
of the Spartans squad is the Blades Super Draw League Chairman, Keith
Firminger. |
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July 2014 -
Spartans win their first tournament -
Since their formation in 2009, the Spartans first ever tournament win
came at Harrogate. They came out on top against teams from Harrogate,
Cleethorpes, Bradford, Northumberland and Thorne.
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  June 2014 -
Spartans play host with the Special Olympics and the Sheffield &
Hallamshire County FA -
The Spartans second tournament was their own, organised with the help of
both the Special Olympics organisation and the Sheffield & Hallamshire
County FA. The University of Sheffield staged the tournament at the
Goodwin Sports Centre, where Wendy Stevens and her team of helpers from
Leicester University (pictured far left) provided health screening for
all the 18 participating teams. Along with the Spartans, the 18 included
Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield Mencap, Rotherham Mencap, Merseyside,
Harrogate, Pontefract and Doncaster.
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 May 2014 -
Spartans visit Leeds -
The Spartans stayed overnight for the first time when they visited
Leeds. On a very full Saturday they visited the Leeds Canal Basin, the
Leeds Armouries and a farm before all going out together on Saturday
night. On the Sunday they played against Leeds United DFC - a game
enjoyed by all.
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May 2014 -
Spartans at Cleethorpes -
The Spartans first tournament during the summer of 2014 took place at
Cleethorpes, where they took part in a triangular contest with their
hosts Cleethorpes and Harrogate. Although the Spartans didn't win the
tournament, their performances still earned them a trophy - see below:
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Feb 2014 - Blades invite
the Spartans -
Spartans players were invited by SUFC
Community Foundation Disability Group to a training session with some of
their players and others from the Derek Dooley Academy at the U Mix
centre prior to last Saturday's match . All the players with families
and friends were also invited to the match versus Bristol City, where
they saw the Blades win 3-0. |
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18 Sept
2013 - Wendy helps out at the
Special Olympics -
At the recent national Special Olympics GB held at Bath University, the
League's Discipline Manager Mike Stylianou attended with his son Paul and some
of the Spartans along with a number of Sheffield athletes representing Yorkshire
and Humberside. 30 athletes returned to Sheffield with 44 medals, competing in
football ,athletics and swimming. During the events Mike bumped into The Park's
secretary Wendy Stevens, who was volunteering her time to support the Healthy
Athletes Programme, which provided health screenings and information to over
1700 athletes. Mike (right) and Wendy (centre) are pictured with some of the Y&H
competitors. |
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30 Jun 2013 -
The Spartans Tournament 2013 -
The Spartans Tournament, held at the Sheffield University's Goodwin
Sports Centre in glorious sunshine saw the Yorks & Humber Special
Olympics squad (pictured 1st left below) start their preparations for
the Great Britain Special Olympics event in Bath by lifting the Section
C trophy. Derek Dooley FC took the Section A trophy and Sheffield
Wednesday the Section B trophy, but the real winners were all the
competitors that took part with boundless enthusiasm and sportsmanship
that was a real example to all sportsman from any sport. Also pictured
below is action from Derek Dooley FC - in dark blue - against Frickley
(2nd left) and against Pontefract (3rd left). Also pictured is the
Frickley squad. More pictures now added.
 4 Jun 2013 -
The Spartans Tournament 2013 set for
Sunday 30 June at the Goodwin Sports Centre -
The annual Spartans Tournament in 2013 is set for the Goodwin Sports
Centre, Sheffield on Sunday 30 June. The Spartans are set to be joined
by teams from Merseyside, Wrexham, Pontefract, Harrogate, Thorne,
Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield Mencap and the Yorks
& Humber Special Olympics representative side. The action will start at
11am.
4 Jun 2013 -
New Support for the Spartans -
Two Sheffield businessmen, Tim Palmer and John Allen, have become new
supporters of the Spartans by donating funds to help some of the players
represent the Yorkshire & Humberside Region at the Great Britain Special
Olympics at Bath University later this summer. Some of the funds will
also go towards taking the Spartans on their first trip abroad for a
Disability Tournament in 2014. Tim (left) and John (right) are pictured
with the Spartans and their coaches, Mike Stylianou and John Hunt. |
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13-Apr -
Spartans wave the flags at
Bramall Lane -
The Spartans were invited to be the Blades official flag bearers at
United's game with Swindon Town. The lads all enjoyed United's
hospitality and had a great day.
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  The
Spartans represent Great Britain in Denmark
Not many local players can say they have
represented Great Britain at football, but three of the Spartans can now
boast that achievement after they became Great Britain internationals
when they were selected to play for the GB Special Olympics squad that
took part in a tournament in Denmark.
Sam Hayward, Paul Stylianou and Niall Guite,
pictured right with their helper John Hunt all made their GB debuts in
the tournament and well as the host country, GB were joined by Russia,
Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Malta, Iceland and Poland, but a terrific
effort by all the squad saw the Spartans and their team mates come home
with Silver Medals.
Right is a picture of the whole squad and
below is action showing Paul Stylianou going close with a free kick and
later, Paul is shown turning after scoring from close range. Also shown
is Sam Hayward trying to make his presence felt at a corner.
Further below is individual pictures of the
three players with their medals.
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Spartans Tournament 2012 - It's Tyke that as Barnsley do the
double
On Sunday 1 July 2012 the Spartans third
annual tournament at the Sheffield University Warminster Road grounds
saw Barnsley win both the A and the B Group competitions. Barnsley were
joined in Group A by Frickley A & B, Merseyside, Cleethorpes A,
Sheffield FC A and Sheffield Wednesday A & B and the although five teams
all reached double figures in points, the Tykes A team were beaten just
once to take the Group.
Group B was a similar story as Barnsley B
came out on top against their hosts the Spartans, Thorne, Cleethorpes B,
Mencap's Norfolk Lodge Lions A & B, Wednesday C and Sheffield FC B. The
Spartans may well have done better had they not had Paul Stylianou,
Niall Guite and Sam Hayward on international duty with the GB Special
Olympics team in Copenhagen in a tournament that included Germany,
Denmark and Belgium, but there was no disguising that Barnsley were
worthy winners. Pictured right is the victorious Barnsley A & B squads
All the competitors received a medal, while
the winners were presented with their trophies by Adrian Hankin of
Sheffield University, who once again provided a great venue for the
tournament. Adrian, in the white shirt, is pictured with the Barnsley
squad right and the squads from the Spartans, Frickley and Wednesday
below. At the end of the tournament the everyone held a minutes applause
in honour of the founder of disabled football in Sheffield, Leceint
Edwards after he passed away recently. His son, Leceint junior, said his
dad would have been just as proud of the moment as he was when he
received two awards from the Queen through his work with Cerebral Palsy.
A picture of Leceint junior with the organiser Mike Stylianou during the
minutes applause is shown below along with a picture of all the
competitors and action from some of the games:
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Spartans Tournament 2011
On Sunday 26 June 2011, the Spartans staged
their second annual tournament at the Sheffield University Warminster
Road grounds where teams from as far away as Stirling in Scotland,
Merseyside, Cleethorpes, Pontefract, Barnsley, Thorne and Fickley were
joined by Sheffield FC, Sheffield Wednesday and the Spartans. The 'A'
tournament was won by Merseyside, while Barnsley 'B' were winners of the
'B' tournament, although everyone that took part were winners by proving
that football really is a game that anyone can play and enjoy. Organiser
Mike Stylianou (pictured right with some of the Spartans squad and
helpers) had plenty of praise for all the participants and the helpers
and was particularly grateful to the University and groundsman Adrian
Hankin and his staff. Mike thanked the volunteers from Laycock Sports,
PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Blades Super Draw League, while Mike was
also very grateful for the contributions from local football equipment
specialists twentytwo, DB Sports and Kitlocker. Below is action from the tournament:
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The
Spartans Tournament 2010
On Saturday 28 August, starting at 12:00,
the Spartans stage their first tournament at the Sheffield University
Warminster Road grounds and it can be classed as an international
tournament with a team from the West of Scotland taking part. As well as
the Spartans, the Scots are joined by Thorne from Doncaster, Pontefract
Pirates and Cleethorpes Town. It should be a good warm-up for the
Spartans as they prepare for their first ever season in the Sheffield &
Hallamshire Ability Counts League in 2010-11.
Action from the tournament is below. The A &
B finals were both won by the A & B teams from Scotland, but everyone
saw this first Spartans Tournament as a great success. The Spartans are
very grateful to all the participants and helpers, and to Sheffield
University for their hospitality and help at Warminster Road. A raffle,
including a football signed by all the people that had presented the
Blades Super Draw League's Merit Award presenters helped to raise £200,
which the Spartans will use to provide the team with waterproof tops for
the forthcoming season.
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The Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA's Ability Counts Tournament
2010
During the summer of 2010 the Spartans took
part in the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA's Ability Counts
Tournament at the Sheffield Wednesday Academy. Six teams took part,
Sheffield Wednesday 'A' & 'B', Rotherham Dynamoes 'A' & 'B', Frickley
Foxes and the Spartans and the Spartans picked up their first ever
medals (see picture bottom right)after coming runners-up in the 'B'
Final - a great achievement by a team that has little experience of
tournaments. The Spartans will be taking part in the Ability Counts
League in the 2010-11 season.
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The Spartans v
Doncaster at the E.I.S..JPG) 
Sporting their new kit,
funded by The Football Foundation (pictured left), Spartans FC's had
their first friendly matches against Doncaster at the EIS (English
Institute of Sport) in Sheffield recently.
It was a great experience
for the team against more experienced opponents. In the games the
Spartans lost 6-2 to the Doncaster 'A' team and 6-0 to the Doncaster 'B'
team, but the results were much less important than just taking part
Pictured right and below
is some action from the games and the two squads.
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The Spartans at Bramall
Lane
Mick Rooker,
Sheffield
United's Blades Super
Draw promotions manager invited the Spartans to the Blades' recent game
at home against QPR.
Mick has been impressed
by the way the Spartan's are developing and, along with the Blades Super
Draw League, is doing what he can to help promote the Spartans and the
work being done on their behalf.
Everyone had a great day
out and the Spartans and their helpers would like to thank Mick and his
staff for their support and encouragement.
Mick is pictured right with the
Spartans.
More pictures from the
day are shown below:
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