About Us
Power soccer isn’t just a game, it’s a way of life.
After years of Power Soccer involvement in the Bay Area, our dream was
to bring this competitive sport for power wheelchair users to our new home in Chico, CA. The Gophers were born on 12.31.23 and are the first and only Power Soccer team in the North Valley.
Our Story
Gophers and Chico are synonymous. We have great soil and great weather; what’s not to love? But as of 2024, we can add great soccer! That’s right, soccer, in the form of wheel-chair enabled Power Soccer has surfaced in our town.
Power soccer originated in France in the 1970’s and developed in America in the 1980’s. It has evolved into a competitive sport with teams of four athletes in specialized Strike Force powered chairs with steel guards on the front. These guards are used to direct a 13” soccer ball at high speed across NBA sized basketball courts. It is for athletes with disabilities ranging from missing limbs to congenital dystrophies to traumatic spinal injuries and more. Many of these people are marginalized and find it difficult, if not impossible, to compete in manual wheelchair sports.
But as incredible as it is, power soccer isn’t just a game. It’s a way of life. For the coaches, athletes, staff, and volunteers, power soccer builds lifelong relationships while offering opportunities to compete against some of the best teams in the world.
If you’re the kind of person who wants to rise up, push yourself to your limits, and compete in a team format at a high level, then Power Soccer may be just what you are looking for. We hope to put Chico on the Power Soccer map as we play matches along the west coast from November to May. Our season concludes in June with the national tournament, involving forty teams. For 2024, four California teams are competing in the top ten, the Premier League. And internationally, our US national team was proud to take bronze in the World Cup in Australia.
But for now, the Gophers are just looking to start up and be seen playing above ground in Chico. We hope to make the City of Trees equally famous as the City of Gophers.
Gopher it!
