A deaf employee at a Derby school is shooting for the stars after leading the England team to victory in the pre-qualifying round of a major international sports tournament.
John Atkinson, who works in residence at the Royal School for the Deaf Derby on Ashbourne Road, is the captain of the England men’s side in the EDSO (European Deaf Sport Organisation) European Futsal Championships, which stormed through their pre-qualifying round in Israel in November.
The England team, which has players from around the UK, is now through to the next round of the championships which take place in Italy in 2022.
John, 39, said: “I can’t wait! I am really motivated and I am trying to make the most of this amazing opportunity.”
John (pictured third from left) with, (left to right): Sarusan, Declan, Conor, Filip and Ruwa, all pupils at the Royal School for the Deaf Derby. – image: Lucy Stephens, Penguin PR
A dad of four from Derby who has been deaf since birth, John has always loved football and started playing the faster-paced game of futsal when he was around 20. Futsal is a five-aside indoor version of the game, played with a smaller ball, that is growing in popularity and recognised by FIFA. He is a “waking night worker” at the Royal School for the Deaf, which means he is on hand at night should residential pupils at the school need any assistance.
John, who has been playing for both hearing and deaf teams from a young age, said: “I just enjoy playing football. I love it – it’s my religion! I enjoy getting out and playing with friends and always have done. Now, I have a passion for futsal. Being an indoor sport, it’s warmer! It involves quicker movements too, and fast decisions – the game involves every player all the time more than football does. You’re constantly on the ball all the time and running around a lot more. The game requires a high level of fitness, speed and cleverness. It is both physically and mentally demanding and challenging.”
The team line up for a game against Finland (John is second top row) – picture by Doron Hafif.
The pre-qualifying round of the EDSO European Futsal Championships took place across six cities, with England’s group being held in Tel Aviv. The draw included teams from a wide range of countries across Europe including Spain, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine and Bosnia.
An early loss to Slovenia 3-1 was disappointing for the England players, who then rallied magnificently to win their next games against Finland, 7-0, and the home team, Israel, whom they beat with a final scoreline of 5-2.
John said: “It was a fantastic experience. 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 of key deaf individuals 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, in a short time of just three months to prepare for the tournament, including fundraising 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 this time considering the short time we had to prepare – so I’m so pleased and proud that we did! I feel lucky to have an incredible bunch of supporters behind me especially my wife, kids and wider families.
He added: “‘The hard work starts now not only with training but behind the scenes fundraising as we get no funding support.”
Now John is going to be turning his attention to training as hard as possible ahead of the next round of the championships which take place in the autumn of 2022 – and he also wants to spread the message that deaf people can play sport as well as those from the hearing community.
He said: “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. It doesn’t matter what barriers you have to overcome in life, with a positive mindset, you can do it.”
