Amputee football has a bright future

Before showcasing the skills of amputee players to crowds at the UEFA Champions Festival for the second consecutive year, European Amputee Football Federation (EAFF) general secretary Simon Baker joined the panel on UEFA.com's Matchday Live podcast to discuss recent progress.

"For our game, all we need is a bit of open space, a ball and some crutches," said Baker. "The biggest problem for us is that some players are having to travel between two and six hours to training so we're hoping to work with clubs and associations to set up leagues within these countries and stop people having to travel long distances.

"It was a great honour to have our sport represented at the UEFA Champions Festival [in 2015]. There was a good crowd watching and most of them had never seen amputees playing before and they looked in disbelief as these players made it on to the pitch. Within a couple of minutes, they had the attention of the crowd. I always say to the players in Ireland, I can do something that Robbie Keane can do, but he can't do what you can do on crutches."

Hear more from Rob Daly's interview with Simon Baker by clicking on the audio player