Town's Down's team gets the star treatment at the County Ground

The special occasion match was played at half time during last weekend’s league game against Lincoln City who also fielded a Downs team.

One player who took part in the match was 22-year-old Oliver Messenger who has been playing with the club for 10 years.

His mum Joanne also helped to organise the game.

She said: “The atmosphere was brilliant, it was an amazing event with both sets of fans cheering, clapping and standing up to support them. It made them feel like professional players.

“Every time Ollie puts the Swindon kit on his face lights up. He has always been very proud to represent his town.”

The magical day out was hosted by Swindon Town Football in The Community Trust and DSActive which provides sports opportunities to get Downs youngsters into sport.

Joanne added: “DSActive has enhanced my son’s life with friendships and experiences, but it has also brought teams from all over the country together, playing at an equal level.”

The match gave 12 youngsters an experience of a life time playing in front of a crowd of thousands who gave them a fantastic reception.

Clive Maguire, senior development officer at the club, said: “It was a fantastic day for both sets of DSActive players and their families, who engaged wholeheartedly in the occasion.

“The highlight of the day was obviously playing on the pitch at half-time where the whole crowd really enjoyed the entertainment and showed their appreciation with the long round of applause as the players left the pitch.

“We’d like to say a big thank you to Jo Messenger who helps administer the DS Active group who train every Wednesday at the Haydon Centre, and Alan Minns who does a great job with the coaching.”

As well as getting to play in a match, they were also treated to a tour of the stadium and a lap of honour around the pitch.

Swindon is a flagship club on the DSActive programme. There are 39 other football clubs that take part in the project.

Doug Statt, sports officer for the Down’s Syndrome Association, said: “It was great to see the players from the Swindon and Lincoln DSActive teams enjoying themselves at the game.

“The community around the DSActive teams is so important and its always great to see teams from different parts of the country come together and play.”

Other sports including tennis and athletics are also supported in Swindon by the programme.

Swindon Town's Down’s syndrome football team got a taste of what it's like to be star players at the County Ground.

They took to the pitch at half time during last weekend’s league game against Lincoln City, who also fielded a Down's team.

One player who took part in the match was Oliver Messenger, who has been playing with the club for 10 years.

The 22-year-old said: "I love playing for Swindon. It was a great day for me and my friends."

His mum Joanne helped to organise the game.

She said: “The atmosphere was brilliant. It was an amazing event with both sets of fans cheering, clapping and standing up to support them. It made them feel like professional players.

“Every time Ollie puts the Swindon kit on his face lights up. He has always been very proud to represent his town.”

The day out was hosted by Swindon Town Football in The Community Trust and DSActive, which provides sports opportunities to get Down's youngsters into sport.

Joanne added: “DSActive has enhanced my son’s life with friendships and experiences, but it has also brought teams from all over the country together, playing at an equal level.”

The match gave 12 youngsters an experience of a life time playing in front of a crowd of thousands.

Clive Maguire, senior development officer at the club, said: “It was a fantastic day for both sets of DSActive players and their families, who engaged wholeheartedly in the occasion.

“The highlight was obviously playing on the pitch at half-time where the whole crowd really enjoyed the entertainment and showed their appreciation with the long round of applause as the players left the pitch.

“We’d like to say a big thank you to Joanne, who helps administer the DSActive group, who train every Wednesday at the Haydon Centre, and Alan Minns who does a great job with the coaching.”

As well as getting to play in a match, they were treated to a tour of the stadium and a lap of honour around the pitch.

Swindon is a flagship club on the DSActive programme. There are 39 other football clubs that take part in the project.

Doug Statt, sports officer for the Down’s Syndrome Association, said: “It was great to see the players from the Swindon and Lincoln DSActive teams enjoying themselves at the game.

“The community around the DSActive teams is so important and its always great to see teams from different parts of the country come together and play.”

Other sports including tennis and athletics are also supported in Swindon by the programme.