Warriors United FC

31/08/2026

31/08/2026

SILVER MEDALISTS!!!

So proud of our Warriors United players who took part in the Special Olympics Great Britain National Games over the past 4 days.

It was an amazing experience for them and every player gave it their all. The Warriors group was split in two, with 12 players per team, resulting in two very mixed ability teams.

They were in a division where one team was way more able and competitive than them. And without question, they were going to win the gold.

The AllStars team were in 4th.

But the Warriors teams couldn’t be split. Every time they played each other, it resulted in a draw or a 1 goal difference between them. So our coaches asked the organisers if we could adapt the original plan, and instead of playing each other and compete for second place, that all the Warriors would share the silver medal.

And we would end the competition with a fun penalty shootout, with all the teams from their division taking part.

For us, it was the highlight of the event! Every player scored, and came away so proud of themselves.

Every player, over the whole tournament, grew in confidence and in maturity. The friendships between the players - some of whom had barely spoken to each other before - became strong and they all supported and included each other, understanding everyone’s abilities.

This, I’m sure, was helped by a night out bowling and eating together at Star City, and another night out at the Old Joint Stock pub in the city where we given complimentary meals and drinks courtesy of one of the Special Olympics sponsors! These two social opportunities were so lovely and cemented those friendships even further.

All of it was a joy, as coaches and volunteers, to watch. And the final day was the icing on the cake. We didn’t care that we didn’t get the Gold.

Instead, we are just so proud of our players - the way they handled themselves (some of them really reining it in when usually they would boil over and lose it!), the respect they showed to their coaches, officials and each other, their tenacity and determination when it was absolutely throwing it down for most of two of the days, and the joy that they brought to all those watching.

Thank you to the wonderful organisers, especially Conor, but also Keith and Alan, for going the extra mile, and for really listening so that we could end the competition on such a positive note. It may not have been the conventional way of doing things, but it worked beautifully!

Thank you to our coaches - Matt, Reuben and Colin. And to Jonathan, who was able to join for one day! You were amazing, and I think you enjoyed it as much as the rest of us!

Thank you to our volunteers - Andy, Helen, Lucy, Rach, Sam, Sned and Tiana - who enabled the players who needed it by giving 1:1 support on the pitch. You helped them to shine and feel confident, and for literally all of them to score goals in open play - something many of those players rarely get to experience.

Thank you to all the parents and carers for bringing your sons and daughters to be a part of this! We couldn’t have had a more supportive, encouraging and welcoming group and come rain or shine (mainly rain!), you were out there supporting the players.

And lastly the biggest THANK YOU to our players!

What an amazing bunch of individuals.
What a team!

You did the Warriors proud!

29/08/2026

Here are all the Warriors representing Nottinghamshire at the Special Olympics National Games.

Thank you to MOTiQ for their fantastic shirts and making them look and feel amazing.

And to Sportstar for their second shirts, meaning they can wear comfortable well-fitting shirts rather than bibs when they play teams with a clash of colours.

Don’t they all look great!

28/08/2026

And you might catch a glimpse of us here too

28/08/2026

Last night, at a wonderful Opening Ceremony at Alexander Park, our footballers - along with all the other athletes competing at the games - were cheered on as the entered the stadium for the Special Olympics National Games.

What a moment for these amazing individuals, plus their coaches and volunteer helpers.

Some of them also opened the Ceremony, joining with others who had come especially to be part of the event, to dance as part of Dance Warriors. They absolutely smashed it and got the most amazing reception - almost as big as the headline act, Aitch, along with his sisters on the stage.

It’s not every day you get cheered on by over 2000 people! And they totally deserved it!

Now begins 3 days of football competition to see who will win gold, silver, bronze and 4th place medals!

I hope you’ll join with us wishing them all huge luck!

26/08/2026

Tomorrow, 21 of our Warriors United players are going to Birmingham to play in the football competition at the Special Olympics National Games. They will be joined by 3 players who play for Burton Joyce DSActive team, making a squad of 24 players in total.

This is a huge and wonderful opportunity for the players to represent their county, get some real experience of playing matches against other teams and to be a part of something really special.

Players of all abilities will be taking part as the Special Olympics Great Britain is all about enabling everyone to participate and succeed in sport.

Most of the team will be staying in Birmingham for the 4 days of the competition, starting with divisioning matches on Thursday morning. There will be 2 further days of football on Friday and Saturday, finishing with the finals on Sunday.

Tomorrow will also be the Opening Ceremony, where some of the Warriors will be dancing on the stage as part of our Dance Warriors group - alongside some of our other DW dancers coming down especially for the ceremony. This is another HUGE opportunity with them dancing alongside Aitch who will be headlining the show.

Evenings will be full too, with most of them going Ten Pin Bowling on Friday evening, and thanks to a generous donation from the Fullers Foundation we will be going out for a celebratory meal together at the Old Joint Stack pub on Saturday evening.

Thank you to everyone who helped with our GoFundMe that has enabled us to help those taking part pay for accommodation near the venue, to pay for a kit for all the players and to help cover the costs of registration.

We are absolutely buzzing and so excited to be a part of this very special event. And wherever they come in the rankings, we know these footballers will do themselves proud.

07/08/2026

Thank you one of new shirt sponsors, TB Sports, for offering a free swim session to our Warriors this morning.

Here’s a few photos of some of them enjoying all the fun!

01/08/2026

PRESENTATION NIGHT - PART 2

On Thursday 16 July, Warriors United had their annual presentation at Nottingham Forest.

A whole host of parents and families came to watch the footballers be presented with their certificates and trophies.

Also there were representatives from the companies who have sponsored the club, and new businesses who will be partnering with us over the next 2 years and sponsoring our new shirts.

We were really grateful to Punjabi Forest for also attending. Their generous donation, made from a charity match they held earlier in the summer, was used to help pay for all the personalised certificates and trophies each player received. And it was so good for them to see the joy in each player’s face as they went to get their awards.

We were also able to say thank you to all our wonderful volunteers whose support enables so many players, of all different abilities, to play football with our club. Each one received an engraved glass and a can/mini bottle of their favourite tipple as a thank you for all they do.

Lastly we thanked the wonderful Will from Forest for all the wonderful opportunities he has arranged by Forest for Warriors United in the past 12 months. A HUGE thank you for the 10 season cards we have been gifted for the 3rd consecutive year, and which enabled 76 different Warriors to attend a match at the City Ground last season.

We really are so grateful for the relationship Warriors United has with Nottingham Forest, and look forward to continuing this in the future.

And lastly, thank you so much to Ian Crossland for the amazing photos from the event!

30/07/2026

PRESENTATION NIGHT - PART 1

A couple of weeks ago, Warriors United had their annual presentation night at Nottingham Forest’s Robin Hood Suite.

Around 200 people were there to watch all the Warriors receive their certificates and trophies, and celebrate all that the players and the club had achieved in the past year.

A huge well done to all of the players from both the Mansfield and Nottingham Warriors, who range from 5 up to 47 years, and to the siblings who also join in during the sessions, who also received a little award too.

Congratulations to Aayan, Abi, Alistair, Amelia, Anya, Archie, Archie, Ashley, Ashton, Bella, Callum, Calum, Charlee, Cole, Craig, Daisy, Danny, Dante, Declan, Dylan, Elisa, Ellis, Emily, Emily, Emmanuel, Evie, Florence, Gideon, Gracie-mae, Hugo, Isaac, Isla, Jack, Jack, Jake, Jamie, Jason, Jeremiah, Jessica, J.J, Joe, Joseph, Joshua, Judah, Jude, Jude, Lauren, Lewis, Liam, Liam, Logan, Logan, Lucas, Luke, Macey-Grace, Maia, Maira, Marcus, Mariyam, Mason, Matt, Matthew, Myrah, Naomi, Nicola, Ollie, Olly, Osa, Oscar, Pierce, P.J, Poppy, Poppy, Poppy, Rachel, Remy, Reu, Rhiannon, Riley, Roman, Rory, Ryan, Sean, Thea, Theo, Theo, Theodore, Thomas, Thomas, Thomas, Tom, Zach and Zayd!

And Andre, Arthur, Ella, Molly and Neil - we will keep your trophies safe until you’re able to collect them in September.

So proud of every single one of our Warriors!