John leading way for England
A DEAF employee at a Derby school has led England through the pre-qualifying round of an international sports tournament.
John Atkinson, who works in residence at the Royal School for the Deaf Derby, is captain of the England men’s side in the EDSO (European Deaf Sport Organisation) European Futsal Championships.
They have reached the next stage of the championships and will travel to Italy next in autumn this year.
“I can’t wait! I am really motivated and I am trying to make the most of this amazing opportunity,” said Atkinson, a “waking night worker” at the Royal School for the Deaf, helping residential pupils if they need assistance.
Futsal is a five-aside indoor version of the game, played with a smaller ball, that is growing in popularity and recognised by FIFA.
The pre-qualifying round of the EDSO European Futsal Championships took place across six cities, with England’s group held in Tel Aviv.
The draw included teams from Spain, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine and Bosnia.
England recovered from a 3-1 loss to Slovenia in their group, beating Finland 7-0 and hosts Israel 5-2 to ensure they progressed.
“It was a fantastic experience,” added Atkinson. “I have been in the European Championships before, three years ago in Switzerland.
“During that time, we had funding support from the FA, although, frustratingly, the FA has since cut funding to futsal nationwide leaving the future of futsal development uncertain.
“However, we were determined not to let this stop us. A group got together and formed England International Deaf Futsal (EIDF) to ensure futsal continues to develop within the deaf community.
“It wasn’t an easy run for us, starting up from scratch. We had only three months to prepare for the tournament, including fund-raising and training.
“I am incredibly proud of the players, everyone who worked behind the scenes and the people who donated to us.
“We knew it would be tricky to qualify considering the short time we had to prepare.
“I feel lucky to have an incredible bunch of supporters behind me especially my wife, kids and wider families.”
He added: “I just want to show the world that deaf people can play football, and futsal, just the same as everybody else.
“I’ve got so much out of playing sport in my life and I would love for other deaf people to get the same out of it that I have.”