We are super proud of Crowborough News occasional reporter, Jake Heasman, who was in the England football team that made it to the final of the world cup.
The 21-year-old journalism student was part of England’s partially-sighted team which sadly suffered a last-gasp defeat against Ukraine in the IBSA Partially-Sighted Futsal World Championship Final.
The side looked as though they were going into extra time in Antalya, before Ukraine scored with just eleven seconds remaining to seal victory and another title. The England team had booked their place in the final with impressive wins over Turkey and Japan.
It left Jake, who has now made the final twice, with mixed emotions. He said: “Representing my country in a world cup final was an unbelievable experience. To lose with 11 seconds left was absolutely gutting but, given some time, it will only make the squad and myself stronger.
“Every time I pull on the shirt I feel a huge amount of pride and responsibility so to be able to say I have played in two world cup finals by the age of 21 is amazing.”
Para Lion, Jake, from Crowborough is an established member of the team having first broken into the senior squad as a 17 year old. He previously told England Football about his condition and how it’s impacted his football journey to this point, which began Crowborough and progressed via Brighton & Hove Albion’s para football hub.
“I’ve got an optic glioma, which is a non-cancerous brain tumour that affects all aspects of my vision,” he said. “Whether that’s long distance or short distances, as well as my peripheral vision, it’s all affected quite heavily too so I can’t really see things coming from the side either.
“Communication is a massive thing in the partially-sighted game and we all need to know where we are, where the pass is coming from or where it’s going to. So if you’re going to play a pass, shouting that it’s going to your right foot for example, really helps all of us so you know where the ball is going to go and what decision you have to make.
“I started out in mainstream football and I was a goalkeeper originally. But when the eleven-a-side pitches became too big for me to see because of my sight – I couldn’t really see the other end of the pitch – I found Futsal and I started doing that alongside mainstream football and it’s just changed my world.”