University of Sheffield student Jacob Heasman, 20, from Crowborough, East Sussex, will be representing England this week on their Partially Sighted Futsal team.
After starting the sport at age 10 and quickly rising through regional and national levels, Jake played in his first major tournament, the World Championships, last year in Birmingham at age 18.
He said: “I played my first game of the World Championships the same day I got my A-level results. I got my results in the morning and played in the afternoon.
“I couldn’t believe I got into university and then won 4-1 against France, it was incredible and definitely one of the best days of my life.”
The 20-year-old Journalism student received his call-up to the England squad just over two weeks ago.
“It’s been so surreal, I’m going about my daily life doing my uni work but in the back of my mind I can’t stop thinking about the fact that I’m playing for my country so soon.”
Lisa Bradley, Director of Undergraduate Journalism at the University of Sheffield said: “We are all so proud of Jake and this incredible achievement.
“Jake is and has always been a dedicated and committed student and has never let his vision impairment hold him back. This is just another example of his resilience and what a wonderful role model he is to others.”
Jake had two seizures as a toddler, after which an MRI scan identified a non-cancerous brain tumour that began to grow, resulting in two rounds of chemotherapy, one at age two, the other at age seven.
The tumour sits on the two nerves that connect his eyes and brain, squashing the nerves and affecting his vision.
“Some days are worse than others, lighting can affect it and if I’m really tired that can affect it too but I’m 10 years plus chemo free and I’m playing for England so I haven’t let it stop me.”
“Plus the boys I play with are like a second family because we’re all partially sighted so we’ve all had similar experiences. A couple of years ago all my mates were passing their driving tests but I can’t drive because of my vision. I was able to talk to people in the team who’d already been through that process and it made everything feel better.”
Jake also plays for his university futsal team, with players of no visual-impairment.
He said: “I’m really grateful to play with mainstream players who can see more because they can see the ball quicker and it helps me react faster even though I can’t see it as quickly.
“Having to react and position myself quicker has really helped me progress.”
The assistant coach for the England squad, Ryan Walsh, said: “I have been working with Jake now for coming up to a year and I can honestly say it’s been a pleasure the entire time.
“He’s not only a great athlete that is consistently working on improving himself, he is first and foremost a great person. These two things combined will lead him to a long and successful England career, hopefully continuing with a medal at the Euros.”
The competition is being hosted in Antalya, Turkey, with the team’s first fixture of the 10-day tournament taking place on Tuesday 5 November.
The other competing countries are Italy, Turkey, Ukraine and Spain.
Jake said: “Ukraine are our rivals. We’ve managed to get to three European World Championship Finals in a row but we’ve lost all three to Ukraine, I’m hoping we go that one step further this time and get the gold.”