Fresh off three players contributing to the United States' 2022 Amputee Football World Cup effort this week, the New England Amputee Soccer Team will play an exhibition match at halftime of the New England Revolution’s home match against the New York Red Bulls on April 2 (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, DAZN in Canada).
Founded by Massachusetts' own Nico Calabria and Rafa Perdigão in 2019, the New England Amputee Soccer Team has a long-term partnership with the Revolution, which has supported the team with donations and funding for team expenses, including training field usage.
The Revs also support the amputee team with custom uniforms and boots, and in 2021 donated SideStix crutches used by the athletes to facilitate competition.
“We are so lucky to be supported by the Revolution and Kraft family,” Calabria said in a release. “Our team is the best equipped and supported amputee soccer program anywhere in the United States. I can't express how impactful it is to welcome new amputees to our team at high-quality facilities with a Revolution jersey."
Three New England Amputee players – Calabria, Corey Laycock, and Vinny Fischer – are currently on qualifying duty with the US Men’s Amputee Soccer Team in San Juan de Los Lagos, Mexico. The United States are competing for three World Cup berths along with Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Haiti. The World Cup is scheduled for October 2022.
The New England team is an affiliate of the American Amputee Soccer Association, welcoming amputee athletes of all ages, genders, and skill levels. Calabria, a native of Concord, Mass. and a teacher at Concord Middle School, has competed on the national stage since 2010 as captain of the US Men’s Amputee Soccer Team. Perdigão, a resident of Shrewsbury, Mass., began competing as an amputee athlete in his native Brazil in 2008, where he founded the country’s first professional soccer team for amputees.
New England Amputee Soccer Team Roster
- Nico Calabria (Concord, Mass.)
- Rafa Perdigao (Framingham, Mass.)
- Brian Bardell (Northborough, Mass.)
- Christopher Barnett (Houston, Texas)
- Corey Laycock (Sandown, N.H.)
- Musabwa Nzirimwo (Syracuse, N.Y.)
- Emily Sunderland (Cambridge, Mass.)
- Vinny Fischer (Abington, Mass.)
- David Bonfiglio (Foxborough, Mass.)
- Kelvin Jiminez (Malden, Mass.)
- Jack Manning (Foxborough, Mass.)
Coaches: Jean Carlone, Charlie Livingstone, Emily Maxwell
