Across the country football fans cheered on the Lionesses to their 2022 Euro victory, a win which inspired everyone to chase their dreams. None more so than Niamh Howell who at just 10-years-old wants to become a pro footballer and play in the Paralympics.
Sheffield United supporter Niamh struggled to do anything physical after her diagnosis of optic nerve hypoplasia at three months old. She only has vision of up to 20cm ahead in her right eye with no vision at all in her left.
When Manchester City striker Chloe Kelly scored her extra time goal for England in the European Championship finals against Germany in July 2022, Niamh realised that girls could “achieve anything”. She now trains to play blind football once a week in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
She dreams that one day she will join the National Blind Football League and compete in the Paralympics. Niamh’s mum Georgia Howell, 28, who also lives with chef Connor Liggins, 25, and their three-month-old son Luca, has been told by coaches that her daughter “could be playing for England by the time she is 18”.
Niamh said: “My whole life I have always felt like I was being held back, I could never play sports with my classmates because I couldn’t see. But when the Lionesses won the Euros, it made me realise I could achieve what I wanted. As a young woman, anything was possible.
“The win meant so much to me – and I loved that the women won before the men did. Football has given me a passion, a goal, and I hope to score thousands of goals.”
Niamh’s vision was not detected at birth but mum Georgia knew something was not right when she was two months old. The footy ace suffered from shaking eyes and “never looked up or at any lights.”
A month later she was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia which is a condition where the nerve is under-developed or absent and causes serious visual impairment. It is thought to impact around 1 in 10,000 children in the UK.
While Niamh struggled with sports and physical activities as she struggled to “see faces” and could never tell if someone was “happy or sad”, she excelled at maths in school. Her true passion emerged at age seven - playing football.
She said: “I used to play football in school when I was younger, but I was never very good. I always had passion but never had a chance to do anything. If I am running, I can’t see where I am going, so I need someone running with me.
“In football, when I do see the ball I run to it and it’s gone. I can’t really see faces, I can never see if someone is happy or sad. I have to go off the tone of voice. But it was always so fun, even if it seemed impossible for me.”
Since the Euros win, Niamh now trains each week with a football coach in the area who specialises in blind football and has been told she could be playing for England by the time she’s a teenager.
Blind football is a non-contact sport and seven-a-side as opposed to 11-a-side. If players have some visibility they wear blindfolds to ensure everything is fair. The ball makes a rattling noise when it moves to help the players, which Niamh said sounds like “there are skittles in there”.
“I feel like this could be my future. I am good at goalscoring and good at defending,” said the young star. “I am training every single week, and I feel really inspired and passionate. I feel like I can actually do something.”
The National Blind Football League currently features just three teams – Royal National College for the Blind, West Bromwich Albion Blind FC and Merseyside Blind FC – and Niamh spends each night researching the league and the sport.
She said: “It’s very new, there are only three teams. But I have been reading all about it. I do research every night. Merseyside just became champions and I was cheering. They’re who I support.”
“For me, I don’t want to think too far ahead. I just want to get into the league first and play and see where it goes. But maybe in the future I could be in the Paralympics.”
Despite facing “ups and downs” in Niamh’s childhood, her mum and family have never been more proud of her. Georgia said: “I feel overwhelming pride, as she has finally realised that she can achieve anything.
“As a parent, you always tell your children they can do it all but now she believes it herself,” she beamed. “I always knew she was capable, but it was tough to make her believe it because her life was full of barriers and hurdles.”
It’s not just Niamh’s family who believe in her. Georgia said: “All of the coaches have told me she has a bright future in football, and just how talented she is. People said she could be playing for England by the time she is 18, and it just melted my heart.”
Niamh and Georgia were invited by Guide Dogs for a football masterclass for the Blind Association in August this year, and are encouraging others to join the “incredible” experience. You can find out more about the initiative at: www.guidedogs.org.uk/getting-support/help-for-children-and-families/
