The Diabetes Football Community

World Diabetes Day 2019 – Chris’ Message

Posted on November 14, 2019 by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Biography, diabetes, Football, sport

A day that I remind myself to thank the great Sir Frederick Banting for the gift he gave me, a chance to continue living my life despite being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. His co-creation of Insulin in the 1920’s has saved millions of lives, including my own, from a life cut short by this condition. This day is about you my friend, as we celebrate your birthday and the gift you gave us.

With that extra time you’ve given me, I hope I’ve done you proud. I’ve done my best to defy the pitfalls of Diabetes and use the experiences I’ve worked hard for and been fortunate enough to have, to help others that share this condition with me. I feel that your gift to us all is one I won’t overlook or take lightly, and if I can gift anything back to others like me, then I will at least be living in a way which befits your legacy. I know I’m lucky I’m still here, with the developments of science, and in particular the incredible NHS, to thank for the life I’m able to live in 2019. Others round the world still aren’t as lucky as we are here in the UK and I’ll always be grateful for what we have.

Through the work of TDFC, the honour of representing my country within Futsal and my advocacy work for the condition, I hope I do what I can to ensure the time I’ve been given back is not wasted. I’m able to live a life which I decide upon, not my condition, which is all thanks to you, Sir Frederick Banting. There is another person I want to talk about though today…

A man whom I’ve rarely mentioned publicly when talking about Diabetes is my grandfather who also lived with Type 1 Diabetes. He was diagnosed at the age of 21 in 1956 and lived 40 years with type 1 before he died in 1997. 40 years of living with the condition whilst having only the use of animal insulin and without the medical support/devices we have nowadays to help us control it. I think to do that was pretty amazing and even though we met for just a short period in my life, I’m just glad I got the chance. A man with an incredible story, who defied the odds more so than I have in my opinion, that I wish I’d have had the chance to get to know more. I was very young at the time of his passing and at this point I hadn’t been diagnosed with Type 1. I’m grateful he never saw a day where I was diagnosed with the condition (My Mum is too!) , which had potentially passed on a generation to me, because I know he’d have been devastated. But more than ever I wish he’d have seen the work that has been done through The Diabetes Football Community. In the face of what we both lived with, I’ve tried to tread a positive path, which I’m hoping many others can follow. I know he will have been extremely proud of this project and I’m sure he’s looking down smiling upon it all from wherever he is.

I wanted to talk about both of these men, whom never knew I lived with Type 1 Diabetes, because of the lasting impact that they have had on my life. A day of remembering Sir Frederick Banting felt like the right time to remember my Grandad too. A day full of positivity surrounding Diabetes that I want to dedicate to them both.

My life now consists of ensuring I do them both proud by ensuring I live a life full of positive experiences, whilst sharing the journey and helping others with the condition fulfil their potential in sport. If I can do that I’ll be a happy guy and I think they would be too. I’ve now lived with the condition half as long as my Grandad did, with this year marking 20 years. I hope by the time I hit 40 years since my diagnosis, diabetes will be something we remembered we lived with not something we continue to.

So what’s my lasting message for World Diabetes Day?

Be grateful for what we have, treat the time we have as a gift and don’t let Diabetes define the way you live your life. See it as an extra hurdle to jump not a mountain to climb.

This one is for you Grandad & Sir Frederick Banting…. I hope I’ve done your legacies proud.

If you want to see an incredibly inspiring story from Katie McLean who’s sharing her story publicly with us for the first-time head to the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QbZR6alWBw

And make sure you don’t forget to pick up your tickets to #SporT1Day this Sunday at the University of Worcester (17th November 2019)… We still have a few left and you can get your hands on them on the below link:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sport1day-2019-tickets-59520275747

Have a great day everyone and Happy World Diabetes Day 2019!

Chris

DiaEuro 2019 Perspective: Chris Bright (Player / Coach / Organiser)

Posted on September 5, 2019November 9, 2019 by thediabetesfootballcommunity in diabetes, Football, sport

It’s something pretty special…. The opportunity to represent your country and your condition. DiaEuro or the European Futsal Championships for people with Diabetes is into its 7^thconsecutive year of competition and through this wonderful tournament we are given a unique chance to live out every kid’s dream, to play for your country.

But this tournament isn’t just about winning every game (yes it’s important to us all!) as there’s more than that at stake. Each team uses the tournament as a chance to make as much noise and raise as much awareness as they can, to really showcase what people with this condition can do. When you often see misconceptions and irregularities in the way people talk about Diabetes in the media and society it’s so nice to see us all come together to talk about a European event which brings positivity and enthusiasm to the word Diabetes.

As you can see from the titles I have for our team, I’m doing a bit of everything to make the UK team happen but I wouldn’t change it. I’ve enjoyed each one of those roles but it does make it very challenging to do them all very well! Each one brings their own pressures but for the most part I try to take it all in my own stride and ensure the project runs as smoothly as possible. I would hope the team would say that we do a good job with it but you’d have to ask them haha.

I’m still coming to terms with the fact that 18 months ago this was all a dream and here we are talking about participating in our second tournament. This project and community has changed my life and the lives of many people whom are participating every day in our activities on social media or the projects we run physically. This team has been a huge source of inspiration for our community and a place to turn for information & support for the lads living with type 1 diabetes lucky enough to be involved. This was demonstrated by the amazing local TV coverage we received regarding our participation at the tournament. Seeing our project receive this media attention is great for its continuation but most importantly for reaching others who may not have heard of the work we do and who could really benefit from it… The reason we’re here is to support others with our condition and raise greater awareness of Diabetes in a positive light. To be featured in this way is not the goal we set out for but a bi-product of the hard work we put in to help the diabetes community out there. (TV feature below)

YouTube Video

Back to the tournament itself though… To be completely honest after the months of work building up to it, I was just so happy when we got to the accommodation in Ukraine and the rooms were all sorted out! As the man responsible for getting the squad & staff there that was the biggest relief. The stress of booking flights, speaking with the organisers, sorting out the transport & the tournament schedule, organising our players & itinerary to get there as well as all of the finances is a huge strain. I think next year I’d like to find some more help for this because it consumed my life for weeks beforehand. But crucially we got there without much of a hitch or issue!

For much of our preparation for the tournament I’d played more of a coaching/managerial role alongside Harley to help us tactically & technically prepare. It was myself and Harley who picked the final squad, worked through the playing style & finalised our matchday approaches. However, we felt that in spite of this I’d need to contribute on the court again this year rather than from the sidelines. So with that being said and a last minute continuation of an injury to our main pivot JT, I handed over my coaching hat to Harley & JT for DiaEuro 2019. Concentrating on just playing wasn’t without it’s drama though…. I actually pulled up in a training session for my football club 10 days out from the tournament, which actually meant I had to sit out of our final training session before heading to the Ukraine….. Not ideal at all. I spent the whole week leading up to the tournament unable to train and unable to even run. I actually ran properly for the first time after pulling up, just 2 days before the tournament and it felt just about ok… I had my fingers crossed I’d be alright for the first game on the Monday. Whatever happened with my injury though, I was determined to ensure that from an overall perspective the tournament was going to be a positive experience.

Once the games arrived on Monday, after a day of settling in and reviewing our tactics, we went into them optimistic we could really give a good account of ourselves. I felt for the most part we did just that! Our group draw was really tough, we faced last year’s champions Bosnia, Portugal (tipped to do well!), Slovakia (Finished 4^ththe previous year) and Ireland who came into their first tournament. WHAT A GROUP. We were all so excited about the prospect of pitting our wits against the very best and having the chance to play a local derby with our friends in Ireland (which I think could be a more regular thing too 😉 )!

Our first fixture was against my very good friends from the Portuguese team. I can’t say enough positive things about these guys. They helped me shape the project we now have for our UK team and I’ll forever remember that. In 2017 I flew over to Portugal with Karl & Noel, to further the TDFC cause and they let us in to train and see their development. It was a special trip and Bruno, Joao and all of the boys have become great friends of ours and in both DiaEuro tournaments we’ve been involved in we’ve been drawn against them. I think it’s fitting with our connection. Unfortunately, they beat us 6-1 last year and in this year’s game it was 5-1 but as the scoreline suggests we made a better game of it and if anything it was a little harsh the margin. They have some very talented players and their technical & tactical knowledge supersedes ours by a distance but we’re catching up. We have a talented group who demonstrated throughout this year’s tournament, despite the results, that we’ve made strides forward on the court. Nevertheless, it was a tough opening defeat but we knew we had to pick ourselves up from it quickly because the day after we had 2 games. From a personal playing perspective, I had my injury playing on my mind which meant I didn’t perform at my usual level, but I knew that and just needed to build my confidence up in it to push myself the following day. It was great to see from a coach’s perspective the lads employing tactics and techniques we’d worked on all year and something we certainly continued to show throughout.

As Day 2 arrived, I’d had an awful night’s sleep ( 3 hours roughly!) tossing and turning thinking about the day before and the day to come. But we had two games to play and I needed to get over it….. I picked myself up and went all out with the positive mindset. I was up and focussed from the off to get my mindset right to tackle those games. With the organiser’s and coaching cap taken off me by Rosie, Harley & JT I certainly felt a bit of a weight off my shoulders following a staff discussion the night before. I think it showed as we played our first fixture of the day vs Slovakia. I went into it with more confidence, having tested the injury out and having had Milly put me through some rehab/stretching too. We knew that today was the important one for performances and results as on the final day of group fixtures we’d be facing the reigning champions with a really tough task to get any kind of result. We knew it and in that first game we played like it…. We came out of the blocks firing. We threw the kitchen sink and more at Slovakia and somehow they stood firm. To this day, I still can’t quite believe that we didn’t get a result from this game (watch the highlights and you’ll also see why!). The lads were fantastic… The whole squad played to the levels we needed and the ball just didn’t quite go in the goal for us. There’s an argument we could have been more clinical but the luck just wasn’t with us and we lost 1-0. We were gutted but encouraged all at the same time. We’d just completely outplayed a team that had finished 4^that DiaEuro 2018. So as much as we were disappointed with the result we’d shown to everyone what a thoroughly decent side we were.

But after 2 games we still hadn’t got any points on the board so as much as we were satisfied with our performances, we were desperate to get off the mark. No easy task though as up next was the local derby with our friends in Ireland. For me the Irish and Portuguese teams will always have a special connection with me. Portugal inspired us into the DiaEuro family and I like to think a trip that myself and Zak Brown went on to the Diabetes Ireland Junior Cup in August 2018, where we met Cathal (Ireland Team Manager), inspired their creation & participation at DiaEuro 2019. So for me it was a special moment for our teams to face each other.

I knew they’d recruited well with several players who’d played at a good level of Football in Ireland so we knew it was going to be a tough game. It turned out to be exactly as I’d imagined. They sat in and frustrated us as we dominated the ball. However, they looked dangerous on the counter attack. It made for quite an exciting game for the neutral but my overall feeling was that just like the Slovakia game the ball didn’t want to go in the net for us. A game full of commitment and passion ended in a 1-1 draw. We just couldn’t convert our dominance of the ball into goals and it’s where we struggled against Slovakia as well. We missed one of our star men from DiaEuro 2018 JT, who’s goals we could’ve really used this year. He’s a natural finisher in front of goal, it’s a simple as that. But, that being said I felt that we showed to everyone the strides forward we’d made as individuals and collectively. I was proud of how we’d conducted ourselves in game 2 and 3 and had it been another day we’d have won both games, but it wasn’t to be.

This left us with a mammoth task of needing a result against the reigning champions Bosnia to have a chance of staying in the competition. With our legs in absolute pieces from 3 games in 2 days we knew it was going to be a tough task. Within 5 minutes we were 3-0 down and it was every bit of the challenge we thought it would be! We gave it all we had but came up short losing the game 11-3. As we all predicted Bosnia then went onto win the tournament. The ability they have throughout the squad is frightening for an all type 1 team. One of the best teams I’ve faced collectively and individually and a huge congratulations to them for defending the title and really showcasing the levels you can achieve despite living with type 1 diabetes.

From our perspective going out of the tournament on goal difference at the first stage was frustrating and disappointing especially with the distance we travelled and money we’d spent to get there. We’d given it our best shot and at another tournament the ball would’ve gone in and we could’ve finished 5^th/6^th/7^thbut it wasn’t to be. However, the strides forward off the court, within our coaching team, our tactical knowledge and overall approach was really pleasing. I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved. I’m honoured to know each and every single one of the players and staff. Their commitment to TDFC and our vision is impeccable, and I’ll never be able to thank them enough for all that they’re doing to help push this cause to the next level.

But what can you say about trying to manage your glucose levels with 4 futsal games in 48 hours….. Reactive, guesswork and without a CGM like the Dexcom G6 I think it would be an extremely difficult challenge. I felt as though I prepared as best as I could but for me the key was always have the ability to adjust. I was always carrying Lift Glucose tabs around with me as well as my insulin pen to ensure I was able to react to any levels which were falling out of range. I mean how do you prepare for something you’ve never done before? 4 games in 48 hours is not something you’re likely to experience so I just focussed on eating well, consuming lots of carbs & protein for recovery and trying to minimise the amount of short acting insulin there was in my system for games (unless I required an adjustment!). We all did it and for the most part managed it quite well. It was quite a testing environment to have type 1 but the understanding amongst our squad and management is there to ensure we’re all comfortable in shouting up if we don’t feel right. It was a challenge that we all adapted to but one that was made easier than it could’ve been by the use of a continuous glucose monitor.

As anyone who knows me or has heard me talk about DiaEuro before, I will always say that it is much much more than just a Futsal tournament for people with Diabetes. It forges bonds and friendships with people across Europe who share the same challenge. We come together to demonstrate what people with the condition can do through the medium of Futsal. It’s a unique experience which has us travelling to destinations all over Europe to experience different cultures and ways of managing the condition as well as playing the sport. It’s a tournament and message I believe strongly in…. I hope that in the future we can continue to develop it as a product and receive greater recognition & awareness of it. It was fitting that the final ceremony was conducted at the Olympic stadium and Ukrainian TV were there to film it. For me this tournament deserves that, the talent, commitment and statement that this tournament makes is epic… I just wish we could see our condition represented like this more regularly and through other sports too!

For me, another tournament and another step forward. Results may not have shown that but with the project, coaching and players there was every reason to come away from Ukraine full of optimism. I take great pride in representing my country and condition. For me it’s a special feeling which is hard to explain but one I hope I can continue to do on and off the court for many years to come.

Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to the players, Harley, JT, Milly and Rosie for all of their hard work and commitment in Ukraine. Without your efforts the experience wouldn’t have been what it was so thank you again for all that you do…. Whilst we must also say a big thank you to our sponsors Dexcom, Lift & JL Property Solutions who’s support we couldn’t have done without. Thank you so much for everything you did to help us get there!

And with my final words of this post I just want to look ahead to the 2 exciting projects still to come in 2019….

We have our children’s participation event and sessions based from the new Worcestershire FA HQ launching in autumn/ winter 2019, where we will for the first time encourage active participation in Football for children with type 1 diabetes, with support from adults and coaches fully aware of how to manage the condition. Hopefully an exciting step change for our community and if you want to register your interest in what’s ahead head to the below survey monkey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BR88G9P

Whilst we also have the #SporT1Day conference on the 17^thof November at the University of Worcester to come. A number of talented and inspiring individuals living with type 1 diabetes sharing their experiences and management techniques for their sports whilst managing the condition they live with. A fascinating insight and learning environment for anyone looking to expand their knowledge, further their exercise and sporting goals or even just get started. A wonderful day and you can find more info on the below link:

https://www.worc.ac.uk/about/events/sport1day-2019-by-1bloodydrop

Thank you for reading this lengthy post!

Chris

DiaEuro Player Perspective: Richie Grimes (Ireland)

Posted on August 9, 2019November 9, 2019 by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Biography, diabetes, Football, sport

It’s strange being asked to put down in words what my experience was like in Kiev. When Chris Bright asked me initially to say a few words for the TDFC website I said yes immediately, “that’s grand, no problem”. But fast forward a week and I still haven’t written anything down yet (sorry Chris).

So here we go……

I heard about trials taking place for the first ever Irish Diabetic football team in November 2018. My manager from my 11 a side team made me aware of it and said I should go for it. My initial reaction was to say no. At the ripe old age of 34, my dreams of pulling on a green jersey and representing my country were just that….. dreams. I don’t know what changed my mind but I decided to head up one night and check it out.

Driving home after that first session I thought to myself, ‘My god, Futsal is NOT like football at all’. But I loved it.

We met up and trained once a month after that. I would’ve loved to have trained every week but it just wasn’t a viable option. People were making huge sacrifices to make it even once a month, coming from all over the country to be there.

There was so much work to be done and literally no time to do it. All of the players had played football at some level, but I don’t think anybody had played Futsal before. The differences in both games are huge. It’s essentially like playing basketball with your feet. Trying to get used to Futsal as a team was very challenging and we suffered big time when playing friendly matches against experienced Futsal teams.

My respect and thanks have to go out to Alban our coach, because he had the patience of a saint. I’m sure he had thoughts of strangling one or two of us at times (not naming names).

The final squad was announced a couple of months before the tournament. I was buzzing to be apart of it all but to be honest it didn’t seem real to me at that stage.

Because the team wasn’t recognised by the FAI or Sport Ireland, we had to do all of the fundraising ourselves to get to Kiev. This was something I hated having to do as it meant broadcasting it all over social media and I didn’t like having to go on Facebook with the cap in hand, and ask for donations.

To be fair, the response we got was nothing short of incredible. I was overwhelmed by it. I expected people to throw maybe a fiver or a tenner my way. But we had loads of donations of €50s, €100s etc. A guy I went to college with who I hadn’t seen in 10 years, donated €100. Absolute madness. I mailed him straight away to thank him and said it was too much. He mentioned to me that he had cousins who were recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and he knew it was hard. So a massive thank you to all who donated to us.

Looking back, it was strange during our training sessions because we never really mentioned that we were all diabetic. Any conversations about insulin or hypos or Libres were brief and short. Because our time together was so limited, it was all about the football, or all about the Futsal I should say. Towards the end we had a running joke where we wondered if we were even diabetic.

That all changed once we set off for Ukraine. When we met at Dublin airport in our Ireland tracksuits, it finally hit home and it felt real. We were going to the EUROS!!!

I had never been in an environment before where diabetes was openly discussed by everybody in the room. Bloods were checked, insulin injected, pumps were being used. It was an experience to say the least. Everybody followed the same general guidelines and principles of what should be done being a diabetic, but each person had their own little way of doing things. There was no definitive right way or wrong way to do it.

I bombarded the lads with question after question, and we swapped loads of stories of how diabetes has affected our day-to-day lives. One of my favourite topics was discussing favourite foods to treat a hypo, and I got some weird responses in return.

It was refreshing to see everybody so open about it, and honestly it was the first time since I was diagnosed 4 years ago where I actually felt normal.

Kiev was brilliant. I don’t think I have laughed so much in my life ever. Our free time consisted of walking to supermarkets looking for food, and winding each other up. The two lads I roomed with, Mark and Aidan, were straight up mental cases. Although we’d essentially just met, I felt like I’d known them for years and nobody got a free pass when it came to being made fun of. It was brilliant.

Each night at 11pm, everybody would come down to Room 36, gather around one mobile phone to watch a dodgy stream of Love Island and drink cups of tea. Looking back it was all very romantic.

The tournament itself was just special. I was asked by Alban to captain the team and I was bursting with pride to lead the lads out. Hearing Amhran na Bhfiann belting out before each game was a memory I will never ever forget.

Our first game was against the reigning champions Bosnia. An excellent team with tons of experience. It finished 3-0 but we were happy with our performance and we gave a good account of ourselves after a nervous start. The next morning we faced Portugal, a very skilful and tricky team. We scored first and played really well throughout. Ultimately their class shone through in a 6-2 win, but we did have chances.

Later that day came the UK game. It goes without saying that it was a huge match and one that neither team wanted to be on the losing side of. They came out of the blocks really quickly and hit us with everything. To our credit we hung in and defended well as a unit. Our gameplan was to keep it tight and take our chances on the break. We went 1-0 up with a well worked goal. Again the UK hit us with everything they had and equalised towards the end. It finished 1-1. The UK lads will say they deserved to win it, and they could have easily won it. But we also had chances too and I think a draw was a fair result in the end. Until next time.

Having played almost 2 full matches with no breaks, I was physically exhausted and just delighted there were no more games that day.

The last game of the group we played Slovakia. A strong physical side who wore us down in the end. We took an early lead again but the game finished in a 3-1 defeat. That was the only game I felt that got away because I thought we were evenly matched.

Physically we were drained going into the last day playoff games. We came up against a very good Hungary team and just didn’t have the energy to compete. It finished 3-0 but we gave it everything.

In our last game we beat Bulgaria 4-0 to finish 7^thplace overall. I didn’t want the tournament to end and felt we were improving as each game passed. I was proud of every single one of our lads. We left everything out on the pitch and couldn’t have given anymore. We did the country proud.

On a personal note I was delighted to chip in with a goal against Portugal and Slovakia.

I also particularly enjoyed at the end of each match, where both teams would pose for a photo together. Regardless of the results or when tensions boiled over, we still did it with a smile. It showed a togetherness and great sportsmanship and that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day.

As a team we didn’t get to do much sightseeing in Kiev but we did manage to do a stadium tour of the Olympic Stadium, which was very cool. After feeling the effects of the post tournament celebrations, it probably wasn’t the best idea to run a 100m race on the track in searing heat. It felt like we were running with parachutes on our backs, however I still managed to pip them on the line to win in a ‘respectable’ time of about 20seconds, ahem (video proof below!).

Before I go, I want to give a special thanks to Cathal Fleming who made all of this happen. The time and effort he put in to organising the squad and getting us to Kiev was amazing. When he first thought of the idea to make an Ireland Futsal team, I’m sure he had aspirations of playing outfield and scoring a few goals. But we had no goalkeeper and he ended up playing in goal for us. By the end of the week he was deservedly voted our player of the tournament, which is a testament to the man.

He is currently trying to develop our team further by entering us into our national Futsal league, which can only make us better. If there are any diabetics reading this who live in Ireland and love football, please come and try it out, and thank me later.

I had one of the best weeks of my life and I have genuinely made friends for life in that Ireland squad. An incredible bunch of lads. Can’t wait for next year already.

Thanks

Richie Grimes

Ps. I guess this means I’m a blogger now? BABY WE DID IT!!!

DiaEuro 2019: UK Player Perspective (Jon Peach)

Posted on August 4, 2019November 9, 2019 by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Football

I have just fulfilled the dream of every schoolboy and girl who loves sport. I have represented my country at an international tournament. Belting out the national anthem before each game as loud and proud as I could, wearing the union Jack on my kit – this is something I have always dreamed of, but never really thought could happen. But it has. And it has happened with an amazing bunch of team mates, all with the same thing in common. Diabetes.

Since I was diagnosed with diabetes age 5, I have had a love hate relationship with it. When I’m on top of it, and I’m winning, I love it. However, far too often it gets the better of me and I hate it. However, if it wasn’t for diabetes, I wouldn’t have met such an amazing community of people.

A year aģo, I watched on as Chris took the first ever UK team to the 2018 DiaEuros. I hadn’t kicked a ball in 3 years and had retired due to persistent injuries. 10 operations had taken their toll on my body and I’d had enough. However, this was an amazing project that he had set up, and one I wanted to be involved in. But my knowledge of futsal was incredibly limited. However, I didn’t want to be going along all the time if I wasn’t playing. So I decided to rejoin my old 11 a side team in Bristol as well as coming along to all the training sessions with TDFC. I had no intention of putting myself forward for the DiaEuro squad, but wanted to be part of the project. I was enjoying going along to the sessions, and when Chris asked for the final time who wanted to be part of the squad, I had a decision to make; did I want to put myself forward?! I’d heard so many positive things from the previous year that I thought I would. I had no expectation that I’d come close to going, but the thought of it was too good to not try out for. Fast forward a few months and I had been chosen to go to the Ukraine!

My only experience of going away with other diabetics was a kids camp I went on with my family when I was young. While I don’t remember much about it, I didn’t really enjoy it!! This was different though. Every one of us was type 1 diabetic, but we also loved sport, especially football, and in this case futsal. We were able to share stories and help each other out where necessary. Advice was always there if needed, and there was such a range in terms of years of having diabetes. We talked about levels before sporting performance, treatments, different types of insulin….In fact diabetes was quite often one of the main subjects we talked about (as well as football!)

Meals were a challenge, as it was a buffet every meal, we weren’t entirely sure of the carbohydrate content. Some managed it better than others, which was great to see. There was often talk of how much insulin people had given themselves, as well as at what point people gave their insulin.

Going in to the tournament, I thought my bloodsugar control was fairly good. However, being around other diabetics 24-7, I learnt that there is always room for improvement. People who felt 9 was too high to have our blood glucose for a game inspired me to think differently. Whereas before, I might have ignored that, I soon realised that this wasn’t okay, and starting a game with a blood glucose level of 10 might impact upon my performance. I also learnt better treatment of hypos. Too often I over eat and then end up shooting sky high. However, watching other diabetics being patient having had a couple of tablets or some of the amazing lift liquid products we’d been given helped me massively.

We were also incredibly fortunate to have the use of the dexcom G6 for the tournament, which helped my blood glucose levels no end. I started off setting the high alarm at 16, but by the end of the tournament, I had moved it to 10.5. This wasn’t necessarily to treat, but to be aware. It also helped by having arrows, single and double, showing which way my levels were going and at what rate. We have been able to keep this going since returning from Ukraine, and I’m now aware via an alarm when my levels are getting to 4.2, meaning I can treat it before I actually go low.

So after a week where I’ve been so proud to represent my country at futsal, I have also got tips and seen first hand how others also manage their diabetes. Inspired by others, not just from our team and country.

On the playing side of the tournament, sadly the results didn’t reflect the performances we put in. We were well beaten 5-1 by a very good Portugal team in our first game, but the second day was a tough one to take. We outplayed Slovakia but went down 1-0, then again outplayed Ireland, but only managed a 1-1 draw. We had chances, but just couldn’t seem to score the goals. We moved the ball around and the rotations that we’d worked on were going well, but not the results. The next day we were soundly beaten 11-3 by eventual champions Bosnia. By this point we were struggling physically having played the last game on day 2 (our 2nd game that day) and then the first game on day 3. But that’s sport, and we all love it!

The organisation and management was great. We’d get a text the night before telling us our plans, meeting times and what we had to wear or have with us the next day. We then also got one from the amazing physio, Milly, asking if anyone needed treatments, fixing or taping up the next day. As I was sharing a room with fellow old man and captain Tim, Milly spent her fair share of time in our room sorting us out so we could even get out of bed, let alone play!! We had enough kit to be able to have some taken to the laundrette whilst still having enough to wear around and about, train in and travel to and from matches.

There was also a bit of time for sightseeing. We looked around Kiev, and some of the squad were lucky enough to visit Chernobyl on the last day, which was an amazing cultural experience. Without doubt, this is my sporting highlight of my career. Representing my country at a major tournament. But with an amazing group of people who just seem to bond so well. And we all happen to have shown that diabetes can’t hold you back!

DiaEuro 2019: Player Perspective from Portugal (Joao Nabais)

Posted on August 2, 2019November 9, 2019 by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Football

I had the pleasure to participate in Diaeuro 2019 as a member of the Portuguese Team. This is the 6^th time that I play in this amazing tournament and every year brings me different memories, along the years I could make new friends, saw new teams been created, new countries been represented and I could witness the development of the teams. The quality of the teams, and also the tournament, has increased significantly over time.

One of these new projects is The Diabetes Football Community (TDFC) led by Chris Bright, that in 2018 created the UK team to join us in Diaeuro. TDFC is an impactful project that is doing an excellent job, it crosses the UK borders and it’s looked at as an example. It’s very interesting to see the development of the UK team! You are doing everything with professionalism, passion and a willingness to improve. I am sure that the results will come, as the way has been paved for success.

Good and solid projects, such as the TDFC, improves the lives of those living with diabetes by raising awareness on diabetes and the creation of role models for the youngsters.

DiaEuro is a unique event in the World, we have more than 150 people with diabetes playing the same sport in one week, competing for the European Championship making DiaEuro an extraordinary event. But, DiaEuro is not only a futsal championship! It is also about friendship, about raising awareness of diabetes and about putting diabetes high on the political agenda. All of the communication that the teams make on social media, TV and newspapers is a key element for the diabetes community.

DiaEuro has helped many diabetes associations across Europe to show that people with diabetes can (I would say should) do sports and physical activity. We still have discrimination against people with diabetes in many areas that we must fight.

To be part of the team representing your country has helped people to manage better their diabetes because of the contact with other people living with diabetes, we can learn from them and find the motivation to have a better diabetes control, even because we all know that our performance reaches the maximum under such conditions. It has happened in the Portuguese team and I am sure that the same has occurred in other teams.

The friendship amongst the teams is something that I would like to highlight. Of course that all teams wants to win every game but before and after the matches we are good friends and we talk not only about futsal but also about diabetes, how we manage diabetes during the competition and the training sessions and how is the situation in each country. During the games apart from a few bickering’s, which is natural in futsal a fast game with physical contact, everyone shows a high level of respect to their colleagues and opponents.

The friendship goes to a point where we are willing to help other teams to develop because we know that this will benefit the tournament and also it will be a huge help for people living with diabetes. The photos taken at Diaeuro 2019 after the game with the UK team and before the game with Croatia tell you a lot about the spirit of DiaEuro. The Portuguese and the Croatian team were mixed up during the National Anthems along with coaches and referees.

Regarding Diaeuro 2019, it was a very well organised tournament with vibrant games. It was a very hard tournament because we had to play 4 games in 2 days at the group stage. This was not easy but we managed to survive 😉 and also we had the opportunity to showcase that diabetes is not a barrier to play futsal at the highest level under very demanding conditions. In fact, this is the key message of the Portuguese squad: Diabetes is not a barrier, when well treated, in achieving our dreams.

We didn’t have any major or serious injuries during the tournament, which is something that we need to highlight. This was the first time over the last years that that has happened.

DiaEuro is in my heart! I strongly believe on its potential to unite people as weird as this may sound because it is a competition at the end of the day 😉

Looking forward seeing you all at Diaeuro 2020!

Portuguese Translation Below 🙂

Diaeuro 2019

Tive o prazer de participar no Diaeuro 2019 como elemento da Equipa Portuguesa. Esta foi a 6º vez que tive a oportunidade de jogar neste formidável torneio e posso dizer que de cada ano guardo memórias diferentes. Ao longo dos anos, tive o gosto em fazer novos amigos, ver novas equipas serem criadas para representar mais países e testemunhei o desenvolvimento das equipas. A qualidade das equipas bem como do torneio aumentou significativamente ao longo do tempo.

Um destes novos projectos é o Diabetes FootballComunity (TDFC) criado e liderado por Chris Bright, que em 2018 formou a equipa de futsal de pessoas com diabetes do Reino Unido para participar no Diaeuro. O TDFC é um projeto com grande impacto e onde o excelente trabalho realizado permite cruzaras fronteiras do Reino Unido sendo visto como um exemplo. É muito interessante ver o desenvolvimento da equipa do Reino Unido e perspetivar o futuro! Esta equipa faz tudo com profissionalismo, paixão e vontade de melhorar. Tenho a certeza de que os resultados virão, o caminho está sendo preparado para o sucesso.

Projetos bons e sólidos, como o TDFC, melhoram a vida das pessoas que vivem com diabetes, aumentando o conhecimento sobre a diabetes e sendo considerados como modelos para os jovens.

Diaeuro é um evento único no mundo, onde mais de 150 pessoas com diabetes jogam o mesmo desporto durante uma semana, competindo pelo Campeonato Europeu e tornando o Diaeuro um evento extraordinário. Mas o Diaeuro não é apenas um campeonato de futsal! É também um evento sobre amizade, sobre a promoção da diabetes e sobre colocar a diabetes no topo da agenda política. Toda a comunicação que as equipas fazem nas redessociais, TV e jornais é um elemento-chave para a comunidade da diabetes na Europa e ao nível de cada país.

O Diaeuro ajudou muitas associações de diabetes em toda a Europa a mostrar que pessoas com diabetes podem (eu diria que deveriam) praticar desporto e atividade física. Ainda existediscriminação contra pessoas com diabetes em muitas áreas que devemos combater.

Fazer parte da equipa que representa o seu país ajudou algumas pessoas a gerir melhor a diabetes por causa do contato com outras pessoas com diabetes e como resultado da aprendizagem com os colegas de equipa. O bom controlo metabólico da diabetes permite alcançar um melhor desempenho no desporto o que é uma motivação extra. Aconteceu na equipa portuguesa e tenho a certeza que o mesmo aconteceu em outras equipas.

A amizade entre aa equipas é algo que eu gostaria de destacar. É claro que todas as equipas querem vencer todos os jogos, mas antes e depois dos jogos somos bons amigos e falamos não apenas sobre futsal mas também sobre diabetes, como gerimos adiabetes durante a competição e as sessões de treinos e como está a situação em cada país. Durante os jogos, além de algumas picardias, naturais no futsal e fruto de ser um jogo rápido com contato físico, todos demonstram grande respeito aos colega e aos adversários.

A amizade chega a um ponto em que estamos dispostos a ajudar outras equipas a crescerem, porque sabemos que isso beneficiará o torneio e também será uma grande ajuda para as pessoas que vivem com diabetes. As fotos tiradas no Diaeuro2019 após o jogo com a equipa do Reino Unido e antes do jogo com Croacia dizem muito sobre o espírito do Diaeuro. A equipa Portuguesa e Croata ficaram misturadas, juntamente com os treinadores e árbitros, durante os Hinos Nacionais.

Em relação ao Diaeuro 2019, foi um torneio bem organizado com jogos vibrantes e intensos. Foi um torneio muito difícil porque tivemos que jogar 4 jogos em 2 dias na fase de grupos. Não foi fácil, mas conseguimos sobreviver;) e também tivemos a oportunidade de mostrar que a diabetes não é uma barreira para jogar futsal ao mais alto nível sob condições muito exigentes. De facto, esta é a mensagem chave da equipa portuguesa: A diabetes não é uma barreira, quando bem trate da, para alcançar os nossos sonhos.

Gostaria ainda de destacar que, ao contrário dos últimos anos, este ano não houve nenhuma lesãograve durante o torneio.

O Diauero está no meu coração! Acredito fortemente no seu potencial para unir as pessoas, por estranhoque isso possa parecer, porque estamos a falar de uma competição

DiaEuro 2019: UK Player’s Perspective (Calvin Ferguson)

Posted on August 1, 2019November 9, 2019 by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Biography, diabetes, Football, sport

Now the dust has settled on the recent DiaEuro’s, I thought it would be a good time to summarise the experience…

It was an unbelievable feeling to pull on the kit and represent the United Kingdom in an international tournament. I have never felt any feeling like the feeling when we sang the national anthem before every game. To score was a bonus, from my own half and against the holders and eventual champions was even more special.

The standard of Futsal was phenomenal at times, especially against the likes of Portugal and Bosnia, they are light years ahead of where the UK as a whole are with Futsal, although to be fair, it is played far more commonly across Central and Eastern Europe, along with South America, than it is here in the UK, but, we are finally making moves forward to somewhat closing the quality gap. We received many comments from opposition managers and players, stating how we were much improved from last year, even if the eventual results did not show this.

We were beaten 5-1 in the opening game against Portugal, although we felt the scoreline was pretty harsh, we had no argument about the loss itself. The day after we then lost 1-0 to Slovakia, after dominating the game, which was disappointing and then, in the afternoon, we drew 1-1 with the Republic of Ireland, again, after having the majority of chances.

We were truly up against it as we then required a result against the holders, Bosnia & Herzegovina, to have a chance of progressing from the group stage. They blitzed us in the first half and we were 8-1 down at half time and 11-1 down within 2 minutes of the 2nd half beginning…! To our credit, we dominated most of the second half, which included my goal, but the game was long gone by then…Bosnia went on to beat the hosts, Ukraine, 1-0, in the final, therefore retaining their title.

It has been great reading all the messages of support from home whilst we were over there, thanks so much for those, it meant a lot to the team and pushed us even further to take pride in representing both our country and condition. It was great to have my Dad supporting us up in the stands for all the games too, along with family members of other players and also people from other nations, who took to our fight and determination on display.

I can genuinely say that it was a pleasure and a privilege to line up alongside each and every one of you lads in the squad…the spirit we showed to play for each other, our country and condition was second to none…at 11-1 down against the tournaments best team, we rallied round and promised each other that we would hold strong and use that first half “schooling” as a lesson, to then play out the rest of the half at a score of 2-0 in our favour was exactly what was needed, even if it was too late to rescue anything from the match.

We formed bonds with many of the players from other nations, including Portugal, Ukraine and Croatia, something that will help us both at future DiaEuro tournaments, and, as a team as a whole.

The main message overall was to prove that Diabetes should be no barrier to playing sport and competing at a high standard. I never thought I would represent my country at this level in any sport but now that I have done, I am very proud to say that. The team as a whole was really supportive of each other, helping each other out when low – many of the guys provided me with the Lift glucose tablets when I hadn’t any left over and the Dexcom G6 CGM allowed constant monitoring for the whole squad, the beep became a famous notification amongst the squad, meaning nobody could avoid correcting their levels!

Despite the results, the experience was absolutely first class, I am very proud of each and every one of the team, including the management staff and our supporters who came out to Ukraine to cheer us on…simply the best!

As a Diabetic, there are no barriers to what you can achieve – whether you want to represent your country or just simply play sport with your friends in the park, you can achieve any of this…Diabetes will not stop you from participating or achieving your dreams. Some days are certainly tougher than others but with constantly improving technology, awareness and support groups, like TDFC, the boundaries and barriers are becoming smaller and the world is becoming more aware of Diabetes…

I hope we as a squad have inspired and motivated many of you back at home and those of you who are a part of the TDFC community. The results may have not gone our way this year, but, our main goal is always to spread the word and pass on the message that Diabetes creates no barriers to achieving what you wish.

Calvin

My Story: Kendall Higgs

Posted on July 31, 2019November 9, 2019 by thediabetesfootballcommunity in Football

At The Diabetes Football Community we love to share the stories of those of you who follow us. With the diverse nature of the community we support it’s always amazing to share stories from all over the world. So here we are bringing you a story from Kendall who’s based in the USA. No more words from us other than to say if you enjoyed reading Kendall’s blog please give it a share. Over to you Kendall…..

“My name is Kendall Higgs, I’m from Loxahatchee, Florida , and I’m 20 years old. I fell in love with the game of soccer at four years old. I remember feeling unstoppable with the ball at my feet. On August 3rd, 2009 my world changed. I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 10 years old. The first three questions I would ask anyone who came into my hospital room was 1. Can I still play soccer 2. Can I still drink milk 3. Am I going to die.. in that order 😂 to some people, my priorities may have been a little off.. but for me, if I couldn’t play soccer anymore, I might as well be dead. Even though most doctors told me I most likely couldn’t continue to play, I did it anyways. I refused to allow something to take over my life. I traveled to Costa Rica at 14 and Brazil at 16 to play soccer with region 3 ODP (Olympic Development Program)

I graduated early from high school and went to University of Pittsburgh in 2017. After 3 semesters there I transferred and now play at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. Soccer has been my way to connect to people, to new places, and to different cultures. When I’m not playing soccer, I feel out of place.. and at first my T1D contributed to that “out of place” feeling. I didn’t want to embrace my Diabetes..I wanted to pretend I didn’t have it. It wasn’t until this past year that I really started to take care of myself and to fully embrace my disease. I recently started T1D1 Diabetic Athletes as a way to spread awareness, give a platform to other diabetic athletes, and to show young, aspiring T1D athletes that it does not limit, control, or lessen their ability to be successful.

Within this journey I have realized that soccer isn’t my only way to connect to people.. T1D has allowed me to connect to others battling the same illness, to learn, to empower, and so much more. I am so grateful to be apart of the T1D community.”

A big thank you from all of us at TDFC for sharing your story Kendall and if anyone else would like to share theirs please get in touch !