The Brentford Penguins, a football team of children with Down’s syndrome led by former Bees player Allan Cockram, travelled to Bilbao last weekend to meet Athletic Club Genuine Foundation.
The Genuine team is made up of people with intellectual disabilities from associations in Bizkaia in the Basque Country and is run by La Liga team Athletic Club.
Athletic Club hosted the Brentford Penguins at Lezama, the home of the club’s academy, where they played a friendly football game against children who are part of the Genuine Football team.
The team is led by Igor Arenaza, a former professional player who had spells at Athletic and Sociedad Deportiva Eibar, who play in the Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football.
During the weekend the Brentford Penguins were also invited to a screening of The Mighty Penguins film at the Thinking Football festival in the city. The film made by Meadowlark is part of a wider series called Sports Explains the World, executive produced by John Skipper. The Mighty Penguins caught the eye of Athletic Club due to their similar initiative.
The screening, which was attended by members of the public, Athletic Club executives and former player José Ángel Iribarwas, was followed by a Q&A with Cockram and co-director of the documentary Louis Myles.
Commenting on the trip, Cockram said: “To come to a top La Liga club with its history is absolutely amazing. I can feel it from Athletic and especially Igor [Arenaza], there’s a massive human connection there.
“The children get on with it and enjoy it, but you can see the happiness on the parents’ faces.
"This is our first trip to Spain. We’re getting the Brentford Penguins out to the world and we’re hoping to travel to other Down's syndrome communities and show how great these kids can be – and that means the world to me.”
The Brentford Penguins, who will celebrate their sixth anniversary this year, is supported by Brentford Football Club as well as Down's Syndrome Active.
They run weekly outdoor training sessions open to boys and girls with Down's syndrome aged five and over who want to learn and practice their football skills such as passing, dribbling and shooting while also improving their balance, coordination and agility.
The Penguins have gone from strength to strength with Cockram’s role recently being recognised when he was given the Unsung Hero award by David and Romeo Beckham in The Sun’s Who Cares Wins awards.
Get to know some of the Brentford Penguins
Arjen Gill
Now 15, Arjen started with the Penguins five years ago when the team was established and is also a keen Bees fan.
Arjen loves playing in defence and says, “I can score goals. My friends in the team are Peanut, Charlie and Freddie."
Arjen like the other children enjoyed the experience of being out in Bilbao and felt like he defended well in the friendly against Genuine.
Mother of Arjen, Rupi Gill, has found that Penguins has really helped him: “It’s helped him make friends and helped his social skills: When we started playing football, training with Brentford Penguins, we were at the stage where he couldn’t even catch or dribble. If you look at him now, he’s doing both. He’s also starting to learn football rules a little more.
“After the game, Arjen came up to me and said, ‘I feel proud.’ For me, that was amazing, that he felt proud of himself.”
Outside of the Penguins, Arjen is also a part of a Down's syndrome swimming team.
Summer Shand
Summer, aged 14, has been playing with the Brentford Penguins for four years.
As a Bees fan, her favourite player is Ivan Toney: “He scores lots of goals!”
Toney is also her favourite as her father is named Tony.
Summer enjoys doing “big kicks” and, like her favourite Bees player, her preferred position is striker.
On meeting the Genuine team, she thought they were "good and funny", and she labelled the experience in Spain as "amazing".
Melanie Barlow, Summer’s mother, plays for the female adult’s walking football team run by Cockram, the Empresses, while her partner also plays for the team for men, the Emperors.
Melanie commented: “Through the Penguins, we’ve met other children with Down’s syndrome and Summer has made a lot of friendships.
"I’ve met mums and dads, and I’ve got a support network. There’s lots of things you don’t need to talk about with this group; it goes without saying as it’s a shared experience. It feels like a family.
"Summer has good days and bad days, and it’s all acceptable. There’s different abilities and it’s all inclusive.
“It’s a lot to do with Al and Vickie, who are the driving forces. We wouldn’t be here without them. I’m so grateful they got this off the ground and dedicated their time to it.”
Douglas Balfe
Douglas is celebrating his 21st birthday this year.
Affectionately known as ‘Big D’ to the other Penguins, Douglas is one of the coaches for the Brentford Penguins.
"I started with the Penguins five years ago. I teach the players skills such as kicking, running shooting in goal,” says Douglas.
Cockram asked Douglas to be a coach to help the Penguins to win, but this wasn’t without a short interview.
As one of the older members of the Penguins, Douglas says his skills and tactics are mostly "all in his head" but he also watches a lot a football to help him coach.
As a Bees fan, his favourite player is Ivan Toney who he describes as the club’s “best player”. Douglas also looks up to Thomas Frank.
Daniel Balfe, Douglas’s father, says they’ve met the Bees head coach a few times in their local supermarket.
Douglas is very much a role model for the other Penguins. Currently he is studying a business vocational course at Hammersmith and Fulham College and preparing to start an internship.
“Douglas is independent; he can travel on his own. Importantly, Douglas is proving he can be a part of the community just like everyone else,” says Daniel.