It was a dream I never thought I’d realise after my diagnosis with Type 1 Diabetes in 1999. Despite its challenges, I never let the condition affect my drive and determination to push as hard as I could to play at the highest level. Fast forward 3 years from my first competitive Futsal game in 2013, that dream I never thought would be possible happened, as I played for my country for the first time. It’s been the greatest individual honour of my life representing Wales in Futsal and I’ll never forget the memories or opportunities I’ve had to pull on the shirt. I hope there will be a few more appearances to come in the future, as I’m far from done with my sport, but with the release of this interview it’s the perfect time to reflect on how amazing it’s been to play at that level.
I’m delighted that the Wales FA have showcased my story to the national team with my condition in the hope that it inspires and provides comfort to others living with type 1 diabetes across Wales and more widely than that. Having them put this together in this way is a big deal to me. It feels like a huge amount of backing and support from my national team & governing body that demonstrates an advocation of type 1 diabetes within our sport. I believe this is the first time I’ve ever seen a Football Association in the United Kingdom showcase the condition in this way and I’m beyond honoured it was my country and my story chosen to do it. I can’t say thank you enough to the Welsh FA, Rob Dowling, Chris Foot, Laurence Mora and Luc Daley (from Eat Sleep Media) in particular for helping to pull this together. It means a lot to me and I’m hoping it’ll do a lot of good as well!
More than anything I just want media like this to continue to be a catalyst for more conversation, more awareness and more support for people with Diabetes involved in Football and more widely within sport. If we say nothing, nothing changes.
I hope you like it and please give it a share…. You never know who might see it.
Chris
