A MAN who lives in St Helens has taken over the top job of the England National Amputee team.
Scott Rogers, who is originally from Blackpool, is a PE teacher by trade and has been involved in football coaching for more than 20 years.
The former head of PE at St John Rigby College in Wigan, he has experience coaching at football academies but took a step back a few years ago to set up residential children's homes and help young people in need of sheltered accommodation.
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Getting back into the sport, Scott was appointed to the England Amputee's coaching team in late 2020 and has now taken over as Head Coach for an interim period.
With aims to raise the profile of the amputee game, the national team has now been taken over by the FA so Scott will remain as interim head coach until the new bosses make a final decision.
Following impressive performances with a young team in last years' Amputee World Cup, Scott hopes his role will be made permanent in the coming months.
Scott, 45, said: "We had a young team in the World Cup, and despite finishing ninth, we won a lot of playoff games and had a fantastic tournament.
"We had a very young team so I'm excited about the future and hope my role can be made permanent to help the team grow."
As well as Scott, the Amputee team also has two players representing St Helens; Liam Burbridge and Shaun Jackson.
With more investment and support being pumped into the game from the FA, England will head to Poland for the Nations League tournament this year and onto the European Championships in Ireland in 2024.
As other European countries attract tens of thousands of fans to amputee games, Scott hopes the English sport can follow the same trajectory.
He added: "People often aren't sure what to think of amputee football, and I admit I was a little apprehensive when I first got in to it.
"But the standard is really good. It's such a quick pace and a real spectacle to watch. And that comes from such a commitment from the players to train with their disabilities and with full-time jobs."
With the FA's backing, Amputee Football is hoped to follow a similar path as the Women's game in recent years; bringing more fans to stadiums and make it a professional sport.
There are also plans to make it a Paralympic sport.
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