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Budding stars in the Albion Under-15 squad were given a masterclass in blind football.

The squad were invited to join Brighton & Hove Albion Blind FC star (and TikTok sensation) Toby Addison and England international goalkeeper Sam Marsden to learn more about how blind football is played.

ITV Meridian came down to Lancing to film the session and interview Toby about his experiences in blind football.

The young players tried on blackout eyeshades that blind players wear in a match, and took part in different passing and shooting drills while wearing the eyeshades.

Blackout eyeshades completely prevent a player from seeing anything (to ensure a level playing field in blind football), so players have to rely on being able to hear metal ball-bearings which jingle inside the football as it moves.

The players also tried a drill in which they had to receive and pass the ball while the rest of the squad shouted and made noise, to demonstrate the challenges a blind player can face during a game.

Afterwards, the group sat down for a longer Q&A session with Toby to learn more about his story and how he got into blind football.

Paul Brackley, Disability Manager at AITC, was pleased to see how engaged and eager to learn the players were.

“I think today has been a really interesting session for these young players, and hopefully they’ve had fun and got a lot out of it.

“They were all really engaged and had some great questions for Toby and Sam, it’s been a fantastic experience all round.”

Find out more about our disability football teams: https://bhafcfoundation.org.uk/football-participation/disability-football/national-teams/

This article was written when our name was Albion in the Community. As of August 1 2023, we are the Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation.