This week, participants from the Rangers Charity Foundation’s learning disability football programme, Count Me In, are travelling to Houston, Texas ahead of the Genuine World Cup.
The tournament – featuring teams from around the world – will be hosted at Rice University between the 29th July and 1st August 2025. The Genuine World Cup is an international football tournament for players with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and Autism.
For their first fixture of the tournament, the Count Me In team will play against the current holders of the Genuine World Cup, Barcelona’s Fundación Barça.
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Count Me In is a bespoke programme aimed at providing young adults with a learning disability with access to football.
Funding for this project was originally generated from the Foundation’s 2022 appeal marking the Rangers Football Club’s 150th Anniversary and the programme launched in 2024 with an initial funded period from March to November.
With the pilot phase drawing to a close, the Foundation sought the help of their 2024 Charity Ball attendees to keep the programme and thanks to their incredible support, Count Me In was funded into 2026.
Rangers Women forward, Kirsty Howat, has also been involved in the programme. She coached a large number of the squad that are competing and is the teams’ Genuine World Cup ambassador. She said:
“I know the group have been working hard over the past few months to get ready to compete against some of the top teams in the world. I’ve had the opportunity to coach a few of the group heading over so it’s going to be amazing to see them pull on the jersey for our club.”
Luke Maclean, who is part of the squad travelling to the USA, has participated in Count Me In since it’s initial pilot phase. His auntie Cheryl added:
“It’s an amazing opportunity for Luke and just the fact that it’s happening is absolutely fabulous. He’s been saying to me that he’s absolutely buzzing to go and I’m so excited for him because it’s something that I never thought he’d be able to go and do.”
Foundation Community Programmes Manager, Jordan Boyd, said:
“The group are excited to be heading to America. We’re starting off against Barcelona but then we could be facing Manchester United, PSG or other massive clubs which is going to be a great experience for the squad. They’re going over there to represent Rangers which is an absolute dream for them too.”
The Genuine World Cup exists to create a platform to advocate for inclusion through football and promote expansion to other countries and sports. This event will also serve as a test run with the goal of hosting the Genuine World Cup next year, alongside the FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2026 in North America.
Count Me In is open to anyone aged 16-25 with a learning disability and take place at the Ibrox Community Complex, 80 Hinshelwood Drive, G51 2XP, 19:30-20:30.
To find out more on to sign up for Count Me In, please contact the Foundation on: [email protected] 0141 580 8775.
ABOUT THE RANGERS CHARITY FOUNDATION
The Rangers Charity Foundation exists to be a force for good on behalf of the Rangers Family, showing compassion to those in need, tackling inequalities and creating opportunities for people of all ages to change their lives for the better.
The Foundation has donated over £6.9 million in cash and in-kind support since the charity’s inception in 2002.
Key charity partnerships are a cornerstone of the Foundation’s work. A range of local, national and international causes are assisted every season with direct financial support and the Foundation also works with partners to raise awareness of their causes.
The Foundation also delivers over 20 community programmes to almost 7,000 children and adults each season focusing on employability, education, health and wellbeing and diversity and inclusion.