Glasgow Gladiators Powerchair Football Club is a Scottish powerchair football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed on 24 May 2016, and currently competes in the MDUK Scottish Powerchair League. The club consists of two teams: Glasgow Gladiators PFC and Glasgow Gladiator Bravehearts.
History
The team started out as Glasgow City Powerchair, but evolved into the Clyde Powerchair Football Club the country's first powerchair football clubin September 2012 after receiving funding from Glasgow Sport. The team trained at the Craigholme Sports Complex and facilities in Cumbernauld, and entered five teams into the inaugural season of the Scottish Powerchair Football League. For the 201516 season, Clyde PFC was split into two teams with the Cumbernauld teams continuing as Clyde PFC and the Craigholme teams coming under the control of Queen's Park F.C. After some initial success, the Queen's Park team found it difficult to compete with the other clubs in the league due to a lack of funding. The players, therefore, unanimously voted to break from Queen's Park and establish a new club that would be recognized by funding bodies. On 24 May 2016, the new club was formally established. To determine the club's name, a players-poll was conducted via Facebook, and 'Glasgow Gladiators' was selected by a 102 vote over four other proposals. Later that summer, the club badge was designed by two members of the club's committee; it incorporates elements found in various logos used by other disabled sports and football clubs, as well as two stars added to honor two deceased former club members. In June 2017, the club received a £10,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund for the purchase of new equipment including a communal specialised electric wheelchair, which would assist in introducing new players to the sport, and to support the costs of its operations, as well as offering the bowling-based wheelchair sport Boccia. An early day motion, primarily sponsored by Scottish MPStewart McDonald, congratulating the club for receiving the grant and commending its members for their efforts was tabled by the British Parliament on 28 June 2017. Further funds have been raised by players via participation in events such as fun runs, and as the club became more widely known, supporters of Rangers F.C. showed an interest in offering financial assistance due to Gladiators players being fans of the club. Glasgow Gladiators were one of 5 finalists in The People's Projects 2018 STV West region. They successfully amassed enough votes to become one of three winners in the region and won funding of £46,596 to expand their powerchair football and boccia clubs.
Club committee
The club is run by the players themselves, supported by parents and caregivers. A committee was established to manage the daily affairs of the club for the players.
