THEIR enthusiasm and dedication to football was written across every face. But until now there has been one obstacle to stop them playing their beloved game.

That has been removed thanks to Oxford City FC, who have welcomed a new team to their Marsh Lane community arena for matches with a difference.

That’s because every member is an amputee.

Prosthetic legs are banned from the pitch and instead players use crutches to speed around and chase the ball.

The team, part of the England Amputee Football Association, EAFA, was set up by Oxford based literary agent James Catchpole, and now has fortnightly sessions.

Mr Catchpole, 31, said the team would take players from across the south of England and urged more amputees to join.

He said: “It’s probably fair to say the deepest wound when you lose a leg is on the inside. There aren’t that many things you can no longer do, practically speaking.

“What you struggle with is coming to terms with that change, and that loss, and just as importantly, with the constant reminder of how other people’s perceptions of you have changed.

“But if you learn to play this game to a high standard, then you’re putting yourself out there in the public eye with nowhere to hide.

“You’re testing the three limbs you have left to the absolute limit of their capacity, and you are utterly annihilating other people’s preconceptions of you.”

He said the benefits of football to team members was huge, and it gave the men a massive confidence boost and helped those who had lost a limb more recently come to terms with it.

Mr Catchpole added: “In fact you are overturning everyone’s prejudices: the rest of the world’s and your own, because you’re proving, at the deepest level, that you are complete as you are.”

Previously players had to travel to Manchester for a game, but with the southern region up and running Mr Catchpole, of Cranham Street, Jericho, Oxford, now wants more amputees to get in touch.

He said: “My job is finding and teaching new guys to play the game.

“I often come across guys who lost a leg 10 or 20 years ago and haven’t kicked a ball since.”

After getting the thumbs up from Oxford City bosses, Mr Catchpole put posters up across region and met physiotherapists to spread the word.

Later this year players will try out for the Great Britain squad to play in the Amputee World Cup in Russia.

Oxford City FC managing director Colin Taylor said: “We are delighted to be able to help them to get together for regular training.

“There are some good players and they are clearly dedicated.”

Soldier Mark Smith, 27, of Milton Keynes, said: “It has been great to kick a football again.”

  • To find out more about the team, call Mr Catchpole on 07789 588070 or email jamesnathaniel catchpole@hotmail.co.uk