The Board of Directors
Chris is the founder of the project and has had Type 1 Diabetes since 1999. He has a masters degree in Sport and has played Football for his county, university and as a semi-professional. He became a Wales Futsal International in 2016 and was also called into the England Universities Futsal squad in January 2018. Following his success at England Universities and performances for the University of Worcester, he was awarded Male Athlete of the Year at the University for the 2017/18 season. Chris lives and breathes football and began TDFC in February 2017, where he brings his own experience as a diabetic to the project. He is also an honorary fellow at the University of Worcester and supports Aston Villa FC. His Twitter & Instagram handle is: @chrisbrighty1
We Are Undefeatable ( Chris’ Story )
Jimmy Josephs is in charge of design and branding. He’s a huge football fan and a friend of our founder. He currently works in print and design project management. Jim is a father and a season ticket holder at Birmingham City FC. His Twitter handle is: @jimmy_josephs
Jon was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic at the age of 5 and doesn’t remember life without the condition. Sport has always been a huge part of his life, and he considers himself fortunate to have been able to play sport for such a long time. He has played Saturday football to a good standard and has coached at two professional football teams. Jon had retired from sport through injuries and operations until the opportunity to play in the UK Type 1 Futsal team came around. Jon, played for the team in Kiev at DiaEuro 2019. He currently works as a PE teacher in Bristol and supports Tottenham Hotspur and Wycombe Wanderers. Twitter: @jonpeach5
Sandra Bright is a parent of someone living with type 1 as well as someone who has spent time in a primary school setting supporting children with the condition. She’s played an important role in supporting projects such as the UK DiaEuro team and the SporT1Day conference and is a keen runner in her spare time. She’s also a big Chelsea fan. Twitter – @SandraBright31
Rhian is parent of a Child living with Type 1 Diabetes. She has a Masters in Psychology. Post a career in recruitment, she spent time in both an educational setting supporting children with learning disabilities as well as in the charity sector volunteering for Smart Works helping disadvantaged women get back into the workplace. She is passionate about connecting children living with Type 1 and bringing them together through a love of football.
Our Team
As a Project Manager within the healthcare communications industry, Bryn joins the team to support the growth of the community within London. He aims to drive the creation of inspirational stories that will look to reduce diabetic related barriers to participation & performance. In addition to having Type 1 Diabetes, Bryn also has an unfortunate lifelong condition of being a Sheffield Wednesday fan (his words not ours!).
A passionate advocate for Futsal, who’s played at a semi-professional standard of Football as well as the top level of Futsal in England, Jon has been pivotal in growing the reach of TDFC. Jon has helped to develop our fundraising abilities, as well as playing and coaching the UK all Diabetes Futsal team. Another Tottenham Hotspur fan within our team who you can follow on Twitter with his handle @JonoTyrrell
Tim has been an instrumental figure within the TDFC family since April 2018 and our first ever Male UK Diabetes Futsal team training session. A former semi-professional footballer, passionate part time coach and family man who’s lived with type 1 for over 40 years. This summer he had the honour of Captaining the UK Diabetes Futsal team at DiaEuro 2019 and now he leads the growth of our TDFC North West Hub. A huge Manchester United fan who you can follow on Twitter under the handle: @Tim_Ward07
Ian ‘Dingy’ Dingwall has been a great addition to the team in 2019. A huge Glasgow Rangers fan who was the first Scottish player to represent the UK’s all diabetes Futsal team at DiaEuro 2019. Ian will focus on developing playing opportunities for people with Diabetes in Scotland as part of our TDFC Scotland Hub. You can follow him through his Twitter handle: @WeeDingy
Olivia grew up living and breathing football, in fact her main concern after being diagnosed with T1D aged 10 was whether she could still play that weekend. As an advocate for diabetes and women’s sport, Olivia is using her degree in journalism and experience in social media marketing to raise awareness of The Diabetes Football Community, hoping to inspire more type 1’s to get involved and feel connected to people who truly understand the highs and lows of both diabetes and football. Feel free to chat with her on Twitter: @OliviaPeace1
TDFC Womens Team
Louise has been playing football since the age of nine, playing at a high level before heading off to university. Now she is currently playing for a local team on Sunday’s & in the women’s national futsal series on Saturday’s. Louise is eager to get TDFC Women off the ground, whilst looking to raise awareness and inspire other people with Diabetes to get involved with the game they love. She supports Chelsea and her twitter handle is: @louisecmccay
Lucy believes people living with diabetes shouldn’t be stopped from achieving their goals. That’s why she is excited to be a part of TDFC to help raise awareness and inspire others to continue playing the sport they love. Lucy currently plays for her local team and also manages an u11 girls team, her Twitter handle is @lucy_wieland
Katie has had type 1 diabetes whilst playing football since 2004. She has had many challenges along the way with her condition and football, so wants to use her experiences to help others. She is a goalkeeper who currently plays for QPR FC Women and has previously played for Watford FC Women as well. She is thrilled to be playing a leading role in the women’s project and hopes to inspire others and help to create a really close knit community for women and girls with diabetes. Her twitter account is : @KatieMcLean2000