Visually impaired goalkeeper, 21, scores a spot in England Women’s Euros team
TO become a goalkeeper you need excellent vision and lightning-fast reflexes to keep a clean sheet.
So when Hannah Hampton was diagnosed with an sight condition that left her struggling to pour a drink, it was thought her dream of playing sports was over.
But the 21-year-old, born with strabismus, a condition where the eyes point in different directions, has defied all odds to play professional football and is now competing with England at the Women’s Euros this summer.
She had a squint which left her severely cross-eyed, and she underwent three operations at Birmingham Children’s Hospital by the age of three.
However, none of them worked and at the age of 12 she was diagnosed with depth perception issues, which mean she struggles to judge how far away objects are.
Doctors told her she would not be able to compete in sports but she says this made her even more determined.
‘At the beginning I didn’t know I had the ball and it would smack me in the face,’ she told the i newspaper. ‘I’d try to catch it but because I couldn’t judge it, it would smack me in the face. I’ve had many, many nosebleeds. A lot of broken fingers.
‘I’d try to catch it and it’d hit the top of my fingers. They’ve all broken over the years. And that’s when I started adjusting it because I was fed up. I’ve had to adjust my set position to have my hands out to take the ball. Trying to catch a ball is quite hard.’
However despite the challenges, Miss Hampton was called up to the England Women’s senior squad in March 2020, aged 19, and is now the back-up goalkeeper for the team competing at the Women’s Euros on home soil.