Meet the disability football team scoring major goals in the wider Newtownabbey community.
Antrim Newtownabbey Disability FC was started during the pandemic to allow both children and adults with disabilities the opportunity to be included in football and pursue their passion and love of the sport.
Founded by coach Jim McCracken, the team has grown from strength to strength despite the challenges of setting up a club in between lockdowns.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Jim said: "I was involved with disability football for a couple of years and sort of stepped away from it but I had a number of parents get back in contact me to start up another team.
"I had just started a new job so I wasn't sure about it but I sat for about a week and thought about how much I enjoyed seeing them enjoy the football so I phoned one of the parents who has four children at the club now.
"In August 2020 we started the team up and had nine players originally for the adult team which is ages 15 up so we went with that. Obviously Covid was still around so we couldn't compete but we held training whenever we could."
After only a few months of operating, Northern Ireland went back into lockdown but the club still continued to run in the background, preparing for the day they could welcome back their players safely and securing a pitch to train on for a few months.
"In June last year, we decided we would start a junior team for ages 7 to 14 and the first day we had 35 kids," Jim said.
"You obviously lose players along the way and some come down just to try it and it's not for them but at the moment we sit with about 25 juniors and about 13 in our senior team.
"They are both made up of male and female players - we compete in the IFA Disability League so play against the likes of Glentoran and Linfield and teams from all around Northern Ireland," he explained.
Jim said the club's main goal for 2022 is to compete in the George Best Community Cup, which is an annual celebration of disability football, across four ability bands that attracts teams from across the UK.
He continued: "It's all about them having fun which is the main thing. It is great to see it grow and when we started the juniors, me and my brother were the two coaches but gradually, many of the parents started to show an interest and we've brought them on board.
"They really really enjoy it - just seeing the smiles on their faces, that is all it takes. Getting them fit and healthy is great too and because we are the only disability football team in the whole of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough, it's grown from all around."
Antrim Newtownabbey Disability FC are non-funded and raise money through their fundraising efforts, have had kits donated by community groups and remain thankful for the support of the local people and businesses who are keen to see the club grow.
Looking towards the future, Jim hopes he will be able to take the teams across the water and keep improving their skills at a competitive level.
"I am hoping we will be able to get out to England or Scotland because there are a number of tournaments out there as well," he added.
"We are a real sort of family club and we all stick together and it's great to see everyone be able to come together each week."
