Leading North West football players were on hand to help welcome Football 7-a-side to the 2010 BT Paralympic World Cup, along with Stockport County Community Foundation, Assistant Disability Officer, Jordan Raynes, who is captain of the football team.

Jordan Raynes, brother of ex-County captain, Michael Raynes, along with Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given and Burnley's Wade Elliott and Michael Duff took part in a sport demonstration at the Manchester Arndale with members of the GB 7-a-side team to highlight the sport.

In a year which sees the football world compete for ultimate honours at the FIFA World Cup, the annual BT Paralympic World Cup acknowledges the sporting prowess of elite disability players in the 7-a-side game, which is an adaption of the sport for athletes with cerebral palsy and invites teams from Great Britain, the Netherlands, USA and the Republic of Ireland to compete.

Shay Given said, "The BT Paralympic World Cup has become a well known event in Manchester and it's fantastic to see Football 7-a-side introduced as a new sport. The team has a lot of talent and we wish the GB squad competing in the event the best of luck and will keep an eye on their progress through the competition."

The sport will add an exciting new dimension to the BT Paralympic World Cup in a city renowned for its Football heritage and its support for disability Football leagues. The event will be held in Manchester from 25 to 31 May.

The countries have been selected to align with a new team challenge which sees Great Britain take on teams from Europe, the Americas and the Rest of the World, competing across four sports for the BT Paralympic World Cup trophy. Football 7-a-side joins wheelchair basketball, swimming and athletics, which continue as events for the sixth consecutive year.

Following a review of the event and to enable other Paralympic sports to receive key competition and exposure in the build up to London 2012, track cycling will not feature in 2010.

ParalympicsGB Chief Executive Phil Lane has welcomed the new sport and team format and said, "We are delighted to have 7-a-side football included in the BT Paralympic World Cup, which we believe will be the World Cup to watch this year.

"An exciting new team format has also been introduced to promote elite disability sport on the world stage and will give the opportunity for the GB team to demonstrate their sporting abilities and take on the best of the rest of the world as we increasingly look forward to the prospect of a home Paralympic Games in 2012.

"I know that Manchester will again do a fantastic job to stage what has proven to be a crucial event for leading Paralympic athletes."

GB 7-a-side team captain Jordan Raynes said, "I'm very excited that Football 7-a-side has been included in the BT Paralympic World Cup. I live and play in Manchester, where we have a strong following for our county disability league and to now have international competition in my home city means so much to me.

"To have an elite event outside of the Paralympic Games with other leading Football nations will be imperative to the team's progression as we look forward to the 2012 Paralympic Games and look to build on our seventh place finish in Beijing in 2008."

The BT Paralympic World Cup is the largest annual international multi-sport competition in elite disability sport. Over 400 athletes from 31 different countries are expected to participate at two world class venues; the Manchester Regional Arena and Manchester Aquatics Centre.

Suzi Williams, BT Group Marketing and Brand Director, said, "Since we became title sponsor last year our aim has been to make this event the very best it can be.

Introducing Football in a World Cup year is a great new initiative and I am excited to see Football 7-a-side included this year. More so because GB player Richard Fox is a BT employee supported through our Ambassador programme. BT recently became the Official Communications Partner for the England 2018 bid too and that's one of the reasons I'm so excited that we can use the BT Paralympic World Cup to showcase the best in Paralympic Football talent on home soil."

The BT Paralympic World Cup is sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), CP ISRA and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and supported by ParalympicsGB, the FA, BT, Manchester City Council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the NWDA said, "The BT Paralympic World Cup makes a significant contribution of more than £1million to the regional economy every year and in 2010 the competition will be bigger and better than ever before. As a region with a passion for Football it is excellent to see that Football is a new inclusion this year and I hope that even more visitors will be encouraged to come."

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure at Manchester City Council said, "Manchester is excited to see the return of the BT Paralympic World Cup for the sixth consecutive year, as a fundamental part of our major events programme.

"We look forward to welcoming the Football 7-a-side competition to a city which has a great tradition in the sport with two world class teams in Manchester United and Manchester City. We are committed to delivering a world-class event, confirming Manchester's position as a leading sport city."

The BBC, the official televised partner to the event, will again broadcast highlights and live coverage from the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Monday 31 May 2010 on BBC Television.

Dave Gordon, Head of Major Events for BBC Sport, said, "We're looking forward to our part in bringing this event to the viewer and continuing to raise the profile of disability sports, something that we have a very proud tradition of doing."

BT's four year sponsorship runs up to and includes the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup.

BT's rights include extensive branding at all events, tickets and other additional marketing rights.

UK Sport has this year withdrawn funding for the event after a review of their investment for major events, which now sits with individual sports rather than multi sport competitions.

Tickets for the BT Paralympic World Cup will be available from March 2010. For more information visit: www.btparalympicworldcup.com

The event schedule will see Athletics on 25 May, Football 7-a-side on 26-29 May and Wheelchair Basketball on 27-30 May, all at the Manchester Regional Arena and Swimming at the Manchester Aquatics Centre on 30-31 May.