Phoenix 681 FC – a team of UK football players with Parkinson’s Disease – is heading to the Ray Kennedy Cup to raise awareness of the condition.
The Ray Kennedy Weekend is an international football tournament for people with Parkinson’s Disease. Taking place in Norway this September.
The Ray Kennedy Cup was established in memory of the former English football player Ray Kennedy who was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s at 35 years old.
This year, Cardiff-based Parkinson’s football team Phoenix 681 FC will be heading to the13th edition of the cup with their sights set on success, according to BBC news.
Team member Stefan Hicks of Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s last year, told the BBC that the aim of the team was to help keep team members active in order to slow the progression of the disease.”
Team manager, Antony Evans, 51, from Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, told the publication: “We’re raising awareness about Parkinson’s, but we also take our football seriously.”
Evans told the BBC that many people with Parkinson’s known that something is wrong, and encouraged people to see their doctor if they think something is wrong.
“So my message would be to trust your own instinct, and try to find somebody who has the condition,” Evans told the BBC.
