Nominated by
Bilal
January 30, 2017
Azeem is currently 17 and is in his first year of college, he began playing blind football 18 months ago and from a training taster session in manchester to being signed for merseyside and playing alongside england internationals in the national blind football league. his love for sport has never been disrupted by his lack of vision as he has only 10 percent in one eye and nothing in the other, hes a fantastic person who will go very far in blind football and is already being sighted up as an england international prospect in the very near future. his blind football has been showcased to many in the borough and is a little celebrity appearing on itv news and in the papers way to often!
since birth he has never let his sight act as a barrier at all and instead goes above and beyond by way of his motto - don't let your disability overshadow your ability. on paper his sight is so weak however he adapts so well in college and in sport with his football. he is a key member of many groups and the borough as a whole and this was shown by way of him doing the manchester 10 k for the charity rochdale mind and raising a stunning THREE THOUSAND POUNDS! the manner he did the run was the most amazing though with help from his old pe teacher using him as a guide he trained raised and completed the run in mid 50 minutes which for a 17 year old disabled athlete is amazing - a request if possible would be to ask azeems pe teacher to come along as i do believe he deserves some of the credit!
He coaches young children at diddikicks and is very much seen as an inspiration that the 40 kids look up to every weekend again taking time out of his very busy schedule. a few months ago azeem was asked to become an ambassador for the rochdale link4life team and is now a member of all4sport and playground to podium giving talks and showcasing how he has never let his disability get in the way of anything he has ever aimed to complete. this isn't only just though to a few children, hundreds of children and teenagers attend the monthly events from all over greater manchester with many different disabilities and azeems delivery and the order in which he speaks and inspires these individuals as well as his confidence is wonderful, training alongside rochdale afc, running, fund raising, itv news, papers, coaching, an amazing year for him and what an amazing young man he is.
An aspiring England Blind Football and Paralympics Team GB athlete, Azeem is hoping to represent his country within the next year around the world and is set to compete in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020. A world record holder for the youngest blind person in the world to complete the tough mudder this is no doubt Azeem’s biggest achievement yet.
He became the world’s youngest blind person to complete the Tough Mudder obstacle challenge which is built as one of the toughest events on the planet. He took on the 12 mile run to raise over £4,500 pounds for the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital where he has received treatment since birth. He is a constant pioneer for those who are disabled and these days Azeem is lucky enough now to be a regular on national radio, tv and in the newspapers, showcasing his achievements. From the way he addresses day to day problems such as obstacles in his way to the way he addresses others whether it is teachers, friends, family or coaches Azeem really does have it all. He works exceptionally hard to overcome the odds and achieve outstanding GCSE and AS level results he is constantly improving himself and others around him and is sometimes very very easy to forget that he is actually blind. Socially his friends look up to him and is lucky to have such great support from them and from those that have read up about Azeem on the internet or in the papers or have seen his interviews on the television know that the world is at his fingertips and that one day will be a huge success. He really is wanting to achieve highly in his football and this is being seen by England coaches, fingers crossed for him he can get onto the England blind talent pathway in the next year or so and even in the near future represent team gb in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020. A true gent who has never accounted his disability and has used to show others how any dream is possible no matter what the circumstance and with the right mind set success is no more than a arms length away.