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Football Futures Foundation is proud to announce the 14 players who will represent Australia at this year’s Genuine World Cup in Houston, Texas – official team photo coming soon.
Meet Team Australia
- Samuel Seaman
- Liam Felstead-Welch
- Oscar Cuffe-Cain
- Christopher Johnstone
- Emily Casella
- Christopher Minutillo
- Aidan Milligan
- Alex Evans
- Brendon Masters
- Brendon Jones
- Ben Robertson (Broome)
- Tycen Heeger (Victoria)
- Samson Samason (Victoria)
- Jenna Reynolds (Bunbury)
This year’s squad reflects the true reach of our mission, with players selected from Broome, Bunbury and Victoria, alongside our Perth-based athletes. For many of these players, football has been more than a game — it’s been a pathway to belonging, confidence and opportunity, often in places where that pathway simply didn’t exist before.
What is the Genuine World Cup?
The Genuine World Cup is an international football tournament for athletes with intellectual disability and autism. It brings together national teams from around the world to compete on the global stage — a stage that, for too long, has been out of reach for these players.
For most of this squad, this tournament is the first time they’ve had the chance to pull on a national jersey and represent their country. It’s a moment years in the making, built on training, resilience, and the belief that everyone deserves a place in the game.
Why This Matters
Football Futures Foundation exists to break down the barriers that keep people out of sport — and few groups have faced more of those barriers than athletes with intellectual disability and autism. For decades, disability football has sat on the margins of the sporting world, often overlooked, under-resourced, and unrecognised.
That’s why our work goes beyond training and selection. We are actively advocating for intellectual disability football to be formally recognised within the broader football system — so that pathways like this one aren’t the exception, but the standard. Every player who steps onto the pitch in Houston is proof of what becomes possible when that door is opened.
This year’s squad — spanning Broome, Bunbury, Victoria and Perth — shows that talent and determination exist everywhere. Our job is to make sure geography and disability are never the reason someone misses out on the chance to represent their country.
Seeking Support
Sending a squad of this size to Houston is a significant undertaking, and we are actively seeking sponsors and supporters to help get Team Australia to the tournament. Every contribution — whether financial, in-kind, or through partnership — helps ensure these players get the preparation, care and experience they deserve on the world stage.
If your organisation would like to support Team Australia’s journey to the Genuine World Cup, we’d love to hear from you.
Media Contact
Saskia Tjahja
People, Culture & Communications Manager
