THE South West Cerebral Palsy United Football Club, who play and train out of Bridgwater have begun a new fundraising campaign to help get the team to Barcelona in March.

At the end of March, the World Cerebral Palsy Club World Cup takes place and the Bridgwater side are entered in the competition.

To help with the fundraising the players are currently on a Run to Barcelona training routine where they plan to cover the distance between Bridgwater and Barcelona on runs around their local areas.

That distance is 1085 miles, so as you can imagine these footballers are committed.

Julie Bowler, coach of the squad going to Barcelona said this club does a lot for people with Cerebral Palsy in the South West.

"I have been involved in the club for over ten years and I really am proud of where we have come, training out of Bridgwater is ideal as it is central for a lot of our players.

"In the past we have self funded this trip but we thought we would do our best efforts at fundraising, a few people have donated already and for that we are extremely greatful!"

Julie is a UEFA B and FA Youth Award level coach and provides the players with high quality training sessions on a weekly basis.

This football club was formed from an existing FA Talent initiative and when the funding for this ceased it was continued as a club in its own right.

Several players involved continue to access the England Talent Pathway for CP football and we have players who have represented England at all levels.

The club prides itself on giving opportunities to play football locally in the South West as well as across the country and Europe.

In total the fundraiser is seeking to hit a £5000 pounds target to help get the players to Barcelona and to compete in the prestigious competition.

To donate, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/run-to-barcelona where you can also find more details on the progress of the teams running efforts.

The Run to Barcelona idea is just one way the club is planning on raising funds to help get the team out there, so to stay up-to-date, you can follow them on Twitter - @SWCP_S.

As well as the fundraising efforts the club is always on the look out for new players.

They encourage anyone in the area who has either Cerebral Palsy, an acquired brain injury or a stroke to get in touch with Julie (jbswcp@gmail.com) to get involved.