My Football Legacy

Azeem Amir, England

My name is Azeem Amir and I am 24 years old. I live in a small town called Rochdale, which is just outside Greater Manchester. Alongside my family, I have lived here all my life. I came across the sport of blind football at the age of 15 and it changed my life. Fast forward to 2023 and I now have the honour and privilege of representing my country at the pinnacle of the sport with the England and Great Britain blind football team. 

Last year I finished my studies and I graduated with a Masters in sports management. Now I run my own organisation called Learn With ESS, delivering disability awareness workshops across the country to help people in the mainstream become more inclusive and supportive of those with disabilities. I also have founded a charitable foundation that aims to use football and other accessible sports to change and positively impact the lives of young people with disabilities and special needs.

How and when did you get involved in football?

I have always loved football ever since I was young. Growing up, Manchester United was the team for me. I remember my dad got me a pen drive and the lanyard had Man United branding and ever since then that was my team. Every Monday morning at school after the weekend the discussion was always football related and for me it was all about Man United. I grew up watching the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes. That was the team for me and they got me hooked into football.  

The ways in which I accessed football was a lot through radio commentary because I struggle to see. That meant the main way that I would take in information about a game was through my ears instead of my eyes. In terms of playing football, I have always loved sport. However, being part of a mainstream environment and being the only person that could not see meant sport and football was always difficult to access. It was only at the age of 15 that I came across the sport of blind football. The fact that it was an even playing field really changed my life and has led me to do what I do today.

What has your football journey been like up until now? 

Football was showcased to me at a ‘have a go day’ event held by the local authority in Rochdale, which gave young people with a disability an opportunity to experience and take part in Paralympic sports. That is where I first came across blind football. Up until then I had used a ball with a bell in it, but it was never at the standard of what proper blind football was like. 

I took up the sport as a hobby and started playing recreationally. I used to train with Manchester Blind FC on a Wednesday night, which then led me onto being signed for Merseyside Blind FC, the closest team to me that was participating in the National Blind League as a competitive team.

Over the first few seasons, I was very lucky to be scouted by some coaches who saw that I had some talent and potential. That then led to me going through an emerging talent programme for England. Slowly but surely I started attending camps with the development squads and then I was asked to train at St Georges Park with the senior team. That led to me representing my country for the first time with the England Blind Football Team.

For the last four years I have been very fortunate to have travelled all around the world. I have played in lots of different tournaments and countries. 

The World Games took place in August 2023 in Birmingham, where we aimed to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Unfortunately, England did not make it out of the group. The eventual winners and runner-up Argentina and China were both in our group, which showed the challenge we faced. The players and staff gave it everything in preparation and at the tournament but luck was not on our side. We are now in a transitional process and already building towards the Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

This season I have started playing for RNC Hereford. I am currently embracing a new challenge playing with a new set of players and coaching staff and thoroughly enjoying the start to the new season!

What did you try to capture with your photos? Was there a wider meaning with the photos?

As someone who struggles to see, taking photos did not really make sense to me at first and I was not too sure how I was going to take the right kind of photos. But the people around me were able to capture what football looks like for me.

A lot of the photos revolve around my training in Rochdale at a local football 4G facility and a strength and conditioning gym. There are also photos taken at St Georges Park, which is the home of English football and it is where all the men’s, women’s and para football teams train. I wanted to show my individual training and my team, including with the Royal National College at a tournament in Romania as part of the 2023 European Blind Football League.

I wanted to highlight the sport that I play, because a lot of people do not even know a person with a disability can play sport, let alone play football, let alone that the sport of blind football exists, let alone that there is an international England team that trains and plays.

It was an opportunity to showcase and give the game itself some exposure, as well as highlight the intricacies, effort, adaptations, and hard work that allow me to be able to play at the highest level. That is why I was very keen to showcase things like the blindfold, the ball and different mechanisms and tools that we use in terms of adapting. For example, when running to a cone I cannot see the cone, so I have a speaker there that I run around instead. Little things like that are intricate details that someone in mainstream sport or football may never have thought about in terms of how a blind person would access training.

My individual coaches Marcos and Andy have put a lot of time, work and effort into supporting me in my home environment, because blind football is heavily reliant on the work you do away from camp. They are the people that I spend most time with day to day - working, training, and developing.

What is your favourite photograph? Why?

My favourite photo is definitely the one of us as a team out in Romania, when I represented the Royal National College in the European Blind Football League. Being part of the first edition of the European Blind Football League was an opportunity to give people who are in the development stages of their football journey a chance to find a level between the grassroots domestic football and international elite football. Having a level in between is a great opportunity to help develop, gain confidence, and most importantly gain memories.

We have done really, really well this season. I am a senior player in the squad and have done pretty well in terms of assists and am currently the third highest goal scorer. Taking part in the European Blind Football League is something that I am very proud of and it has helped me so much in terms of my personal journey. These experiences will also help me progress and do well on the international scene with England. Having the opportunity to be a senior player and help the younger players come through gives me a big buzz. I enjoy that senior role.

What role does football play in your community?

Football plays a massive part in my community, especially within Greater Manchester and the northwest. Football is a staple in the lives of so many people, whether it be going to watch a team play, supporting the Reds or the Blues, coaching or being a player in a grassroots Saturday or Sunday league team. 

There are also opportunities for people with a disability to play football. A lot of the work that I do with Learn With ESS is based around showing people opportunities. Football is a sport for all and it changed my life. Hopefully giving other people the opportunity to experience it will change theirs as well.

What impact has England Blind Football had on you?

Representing my country is definitely the greatest honour of all. How many people can say that they have played at an elite level? It literally is a handful of people that have ever had the honour and the privilege of putting on the Three Lions, singing the national anthem, and stepping onto the pitch knowing that you are at the pinnacle of your sport.

Having that feeling and having that name on the back of your shirt is something that no one can ever take away from you. Every time I play and get a cap, it is a special moment that I will never take for granted, because you never know if you will ever get that opportunity again.  

Being a member of the England blind football team has opened up a lot of doors to the local schools, colleges, organisations for Learn With ESS. Being able to deliver talks and workshops and give people in my community the chance to experience what disability football and Paralympic sports look like is a massive buzz and honour. 

What does football mean to you?

Football is a massive part of my life. Putting that into words is very difficult because my world revolves around football, whether it be training, playing, my work, watching it, conversations around the dinner table, or conversations in the community. 

No matter where you go in the world, people might speak different languages but the language that people understand is football. I love that football is what can bring people together. You can be across the world but football is what you can connect with. My hope is to encourage more people to be involved in football because it changed my life and hopefully it will change a lot of other people's lives as well.

What ambitions do you have for the future?

I am very keen to develop as a player on the pitch and give the team the best opportunity to qualify for the Paralympic Games in 2028. However I know that this is not the be all and end all. Whether we qualify or not I know that it is just a part of my football journey and I really want to enjoy the process. So many times we become target driven and outcome driven. I want to be present in the moment enjoying the whole process of training, playing, and enjoying the game. I want to make sure I can look back on my career knowing that I gave it my all and I was part of a team and a group of people that played football, had a great laugh, and fingers crossed won something.  

Off the pitch I want to continue growing and developing Learn With ESS as a charity and organisation. I want to impact as many people as I can in the mainstream as well as directly impacting young people with a disability. I want to expand the work that we do from a regional to a UK-wide project and maybe internationally. Already I have got to meet and connect with so many amazing people.

What would you say to someone to convince them to participate in Blind Football?

Not only does blind football help you develop as a player and help you to become a part of a team, but most importantly blind football helps and supports life so much off the pitch. I was able to develop social skills, confidence, independent travel and living, teamwork skills, and communication. If it was not for football, I do not think I would have had the opportunity to develop these skills.  

What do you think the future looks like for Blind Football? Why might the future be exciting? What would you like to change?

When I look at international disability football I feel it is about 8 to 10 years behind where women’s football is now. The amount of support and exposure that women’s football has got and how big it is now in terms of support, facilities, sponsorships, and most importantly the success that the investment is bringing is very exciting. From a disability point of view hopefully we can follow that blueprint and gain some success as well.

I would encourage all para football and disability football players at all levels to try and positively impact their local community. We need to get more young people involved whether that be in schools, local clubs or local communities, because you never know if you could be that person who showcases football to the next star. That is such an amazing and privileged position to be in. We have not necessarily got the infrastructure where lots of grassroots players are coming through. To be in a position to inspire even one person to be the next England player - I do not think there could be a better feeling than that.

How important is it for you to showcase your journey and inspire the games grassroots?

Legacy is a big part of why I do what I do. For me to be able to have an opportunity to positively impact people around me with a disability but also without a disability is huge. The work I do tries to impact people positively with their wider challenges, not just their disability. It could be challenges around mental health or their social economic background.

I do not really look at myself as inspiring, but a lot of people do. If I can even inspire one person by having a chat with them or them coming to one of our talks or workshops is a real privilege.