American Football Academy

I am Gee Griffiths and I am the Commissioner for wheelchair American football with BAFA the governing body for American football in the UK. I am also a member of a new development group set up to develop and promote the sport internationally. I have been involved in American football in the UK since the 80's when I used to play, I then became the chairman of that same club, a volunteer with both BAFA and IFAF as well as holding down a full time job. About 6 years ago I approached BAFA with the idea of creating a wheelchair version of the sport. I quickly got the go-ahead to develop this into a reality, where I then worked on creating the sport and writing a specific rule book for the UK. Now nearly 7 years later I have had the pleasure of going out to meet lots of people who would like to play, grow, and see this sport flourish in the UK and globally. I have spent time visiting various expos and events to introduce the sport and held inclusive sessions across the country. I will continue to do this whilst creating 3 hubs, where we can evolve and grow the sport and allow clubs to develop from these. The 3 first hubs will be in the North, The Midlands and one in the South. My long term goal is to have this new exciting fast sport as part of the Paralympics, Invictus Games and The World Games, as well as local teams competing in a national league and our own Team GB competing internationally. I have also recently completed a Walking version of the sport, based around flag football — this discipline opens the doors to many more people to be able to take part in our sport. Both of these disciplines are signed off by IFAF so are ready for world wide play. Miracles can happen they just take time, and Inclusive Disability American Football will be here to stay for years to come.

I have been involved in disability sports for the past 15 years, including basketball, rugby league and for the past 6 years, American football. Developing an inclusive environment within sports is one of my key passions and sitting this alongside my passion for American football opened up some incredible opportunities to develop a sport I love and make it accessible to all. I have coached at GB level wheelchair basketball, and currently coaching the UK development team for American football. Alongside this I also play and coach flag American football and a big Cleveland Browns fan, who I know also have strong links within Nigeria, so this is an exciting opportunity to support your ongoing growth!