Wales Footballers Selected for Beijing Paralympics
Britain may not have had any football teams at this summer’s European Championships but two football teams will travel to Beijing to represent Britain at this summer’s Paralympic Games in Beijing. ParalympicsGB has today confirmed Bridgend’s Keryn Seal and Abergavenny’s Jonathan Gribbin as part of Britain’s five-a-side blind football team set to travel to Beijing for this summer’s Paralympics.
Britain will be represented in the five-a-side blind football competition for the first time by a 10-man squad including 26-year-old Keryn Seal, who is originally from Bridgend but now lives in Worcestershire and 33-year-old Jonathan Gribbin, who is originally from Oldham but now lives in Abergavenny.
Britain’s five-a-side team earned its place at the Beijing Paralympics through the IBSA European Championships in Greece in September 2007 where the team won silver.
The team is captained by 27 year-old Worcester athlete Ajmal Ahmed and also includes David Clarke (Harpenden) Andrew Briant (Birmingham), Lee Greatbatch (Worcester), Simon Hill (Wolverhampton), William Norman (Worcester), and two sighted goal-keepers Jonathan Pugh (Hereford) and Daniel James (Exeter).
ParalympicsGB today also named the 12-man squad for the seven-a-side competition for athletes with cerebral palsy, which is made up of Michael Barker (Liverpool), Matthew Dimbylow (Cheshire), Matthew Ellis (Colchester), Richard Fox (Hemel Hempstead), Keiran Martin (Stirling), Jonathan Paterson (Motherwell), Greame Paterson (Duns), Jordan Raynes (Wythenshawe), Mark Robertson (Penicuik), Leon Taylor (Chaddesdon), Wayne Ward (Manchester) and Michael Wilson (Chelmsford).
Jeff Davis National Football Development Manager for Disability at the Football Association (FA), who has made a significant contribution to establishing the British sides, said: “Both squads have a massive challenge ahead. Great Britain Football has not competed in the Games for some time and has little experience, however I am confident they are well prepared and will be able to perform at the highest level.”
ParalympicsGB Chief Executive Phil Lane, said: “ParalympicsGB is thrilled to be taking two football teams to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and therefore it gives me great pleasure to be able to name the squads who will travel to Beijing this summer.
“Britain has not fielded a seven-a-side football team at the Paralympics since Barcelona in 1992 and has never previously entered the five-a-side competition so it’s brilliant to be able to take both these squads to the Games to compete in what is one of one Britain’s best loved sports.
“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome these athletes to the ParalympicsGB team and congratulate them on their achievements to date.”
The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games opens on September 6 and closes on September 17. The football events at the Games take place at the Olympic Green Hockey Field. The five-a-side tournament gets underway on September 7 and concludes on September 17, while the seven-a-side competition starts on the September 8 with finals scheduled for September 16.
At the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, Britain finished second in the medal table with a total of 35 golds, 30 silver and 29 bronze medals. With competitive standards continually rising and the dominant Chinese team taking the home advantage ParalympicsGB recognises that the 2008 Paralympics will be one of its biggest challenges yet.
For further information about ParalympicsGB, please contact Sian Davies in the Press Office on 0207 211 5240 or 07721 892686 or by email at sian.davies@paralympics.org.uk. For news updates visit the BPA website at www.paralympics.org.uk
N.B ParalympicsGB is the trading name of the British Paralympic Association.
