SA duo dream of Rio Paralympics after Pararoos funding restored

A FUNDING win has Pararoos Thomas Goodman and Ryan Kinner dreaming of Rio after their Paralympic hopes were dashed last year.

PARALYMPIC SOCCER TEAM. Pararoos Ryan Kinner and Thomas Goodman on the soccer pitch in the southern parklands. Funding for the Australian Paralympic soccer team has been re-instated after it was cut last year. Pic: Tricia Watkinson.

A FUNDING win has Thomas Goodman and Ryan Kinner dreaming of Rio again.

The SA pair was devastated last July when the Australian Sports Commission cut $175,000 annual funding for the national Paralympic soccer team.

But the team is back on track after an 83,000-signature petition last month sparked Football Federation Australia to fund the team, in partnership with the Australian Sports Foundation.

Goodman and Kinner are targeting June’s Cerebral Palsy Football World Championships in England, which is a qualifier for next year’s Paralympics in Brazil.

“I’m so relieved because it’s really important that we get to go to the world championships to give us a good crack at making Rio,” Goodman, of St Peters, says.

“I remember the first time I put on the green and gold kit and stood there listening to the national anthem with the boys and it was an amazing feeling.

“Now we’ve got the funding, we really want to prove that we’re worth it.”

The Pararoos, ranked 12th in the world, lost their funding because the Australian Sports Commission did not consider the team a Paralympic medal chance.

Kinner, of Hallett Cove, says community support was vital to securing a new funding deal.

“The amount of support we got really surprised me, but it definitely helped in putting pressure on the FFA,” he says.

“It was such a good feeling knowing that team is back and there’s something for us to work for again.”

Central midfielder Goodman, 24, says the focus is on impressing new coach Kai Lammert at this week’s national selection camp in Sydney.

Australia will send a 14-man squad to the world titles at England’s $200 million St George’s Park football centre, where the top seven sides will qualify for next year’s Rio Games.

“I’m pretty pumped and I think I have the skills to get on the plane,” says Goodman, who has 24 Pararoos caps.

“It’s a big step up for us as a lot of the other teams are professional and train full-time.”

The FFA will field a Paralympic soccer team at the world youth championships in August and hopes to introduce a women’s program within three years.

Winger Kinner, who captained SA at last year’s national championships, says securing the long-term future of the Pararoos has given hope to players with disabilities.

“For young players, the national team is such a goal and without it young people aren’t going to play football,” Kinner, 18, says.

“Playing in the Paralympics is a dream for all of us – it would be amazing to play in Rio.”