Welcome! As you’ve probably gathered, my name is Gregg, and I am a 22 year old Sports Journalist currently studying a Master’s degree in Global Sports Journalism at The University of East London (UEL), having graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism in 2023.

Football is my main passion, and I have been an avid Chelsea fan ever since I can remember (don’t hold that against me haha). However, ‘The Beautiful Game’ is not the only one that I enjoy. Rugby, Cricket, Formula One, Darts, even American Football (RaiderNation), there isn’t much sport I don’t enjoy.

I was born with Cerebral Palsy, which has meant that I am reliant on an electric wheelchair to get around. From an early age I was interested in football, but always thought I would be unable to play the game I love. But as you’ll find, I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Early career

I have dedicated my life so far to sport, playing Powerchair Football for the last 16 years. I was first introduced to the sport at the age of 7, after my mum had found a flyer advertising a taster session at a local school, and from day one I was hooked. Here was the opportunity to play football with my peers that I had been craving!

After a year or two of those summer school sessions I joined local side Warsash Wasps, before joining Brighton and Hove Albion PFC after impressing in a pre-season friendly.

It was at the Seagulls that I have spent the majority of my career to date, 9 and a half years to be more precise. I have very fond memories of my time on the south-coast, winning the WFA Championship title in 2013, and a last-minute call-up to the Champions League in 2016 where (after a 15 hour car journey) we would exit at the group stage, but leaving as the only team to have beaten the eventual winners Auch from France.

It was also whilst playing for the Albion that I experienced the proudest moment of my career so far, a senior international call-up.

England call-up

Getting called up to the Three Lions squad in February 2019 was the reward for everything my family and I had sacrificed and put into the game up until that point. My father had helped coach all the teams I had been involved with, and was an elite referee who was head of refereeing for Europe.

I was expecting to come into the squad, try and put in a good account of myself and keep my space in the squad for the European Championships in May of that year taking place in Finland. However, on the first night of the training camp, having not participated in a single session yet, I was informed I was on the plane for the Euros. Stunned doesn’t begin to describe how I felt.

European Championships

Three months of hard work later, we travelled to the Pajulahti Sports Institute in southern Finland. I’ll never forget the moment I first lined up, listening to the national anthem play, looking at my family in the stands. An overwhelming feeling of pride washed over me. This was it, the pinnacle of our sport, the moment all the sacrifices that had lead to that point paid off.

I grabbed those Three Lions above my heart and belted out the words to ‘God Save the Queen’ like I never had done before, feeling like the players I had grown up idolising. My debut came against Austria, and I made a further two appearances against Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

That week, surrounded by the best players on the continent, was one of the best of my life. Things didn’t always go our way (losing to World Champions France in the group stage for example) but the determination in the camp never wavered, we were there to win. After defeating Denmark in the semi-finals, we set up a final against France, and this time we weren’t going to be denied victory.

European Final

Despite going 2-0 down, and with only ten minutes left in the game, the four players on the court never gave up, producing a stunning comeback to take the game to extra-time. On the bench, I had never experienced nerves like it, unable to do anything but watch and pray as the minutes ticked by in extra-time. If I thought I was nervous watching those additional 10 minutes, it was nothing compared to how I felt during the penalty shootout that followed. I was reduced to watching on, as powerless as all the family and friends crowded round the court as those four players each drove up one by one for the biggest kick of their lives. France missed two of their first three penalties, which meant Marcus Harrison, who had scored both of our goals in the final, had a penalty to write our names in to the history books.

I could hardly bring myself to watch as Marcus waited patiently to take the all important penalty. Time seemed to stand still as he turned away from the ball, before swinging full force through the ball and sending it… into the back of the net!

A euphoric roar arose from the voices of everyone as we rushed the pitch, our dreams had finally come to true. We had become the first senior side to win a major tournament since the legendary side of 1966, and we couldn’t contain our pride. I still remember the hug my Dad gave me as we celebrated on the court, tears in my eyes, still in shock and disbelief at what we had achieved.

Covid Pandemic

After Finland, we returned to club football. The 2019/2020 season was curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and we found ourselves relegated on a points-per-game basis. At this point in my life, I had a decision to make. I was heading off to University, and the journey to Brighton would take two hours each way. I also wanted to keep playing in the Premiership, something I felt that, at the time, was imperative in order for me to keep my place in the senior squad.

So, with that in mind, I made the incredibly difficult decision to leave Brighton and Hove Albion PFC after 10 years, moving to Sevenoaks PFC in the summer of 2020, the club I play for to this day. Joining the Oaks allowed me to play with people that I had been close friends with throughout my life, choosing to join a social group of players similar in age, with a lot of potential.

University life during the Covid-19 pandemic was tough, as it was everyone across the world. First year spent locked down in our accommodation, lectures all online, unable to experience everything that University has to offer. While certainly challenging, the experience of living on my own for the very first time taught me as much as I was learning in the classrooms. Fast forward three years and I completed my undergraduate degree, obtaining a 2:1 mark, and having learnt many important life lessons.

On the court, the pandemic halted all football related activity for around 15 months, and given how the sport plays a huge part in not only mine, but a lot of players social lives, it was exceptionally challenging to go without those couple of hours of training a week. Of course everyone’s health and safety was of paramount concern, especially in a disability sport where it’s players fall in the ‘clinically vulnerable’ category.

Struggles and loss

Once training did resume in the summer of 2021, it was straight into learning a new system and building up connections with my new teammates. We finished 8th in the 2021/2022 season, only three points clear of the relegation places, surviving on a dramatic final day where we took four points from a possible six to claw ourselves to safety. Last season we again finished in 8th place, but this time with 7 points more than year before, and 16 points clear of the relegation places.

That season marked my 10th in the National League, and was the most difficult of my career as I lost my father on New Years Day 2023, the man who had been there for every moment of my journey up until that point, driving me too and from training and competitions for the best part of 12 years, and who had been my families’ rock, especially since we lost my mother to cancer in 2016. It felt incredibly difficult to carry on, but the love and support of family and friends, especially that of my teammates at Sevenoaks and in the wider Powerchair Football community helped me persevere.

This season, at the time of writing, we have again found ourselves in the thick of a relegation battle, currently sat in the automatic relegation places after two lacklustre weekends, with three more to play.

I dropped out of the senior England side at the end of 2021 and joined the Development side. Getting dropped was a setback that hurt, but I continued to push myself and enjoyed the Development Squad trip to Belfast in April of 2022 for the inaugural EPFA Home Nations Tournament, where we went unbeaten on route to lifting the trophy.

Commentating

Off the court, I began commentating on games as soon as commentary became available back in 2021. I love our sport, love talking about it, and have always held a keen interest in commentating, so to be able to combine the two and help describe the games for the people watching back home was an opportunity I couldn’t let slip by.

Commentating on our sport has become a passion of mine, getting behind the mic whenever I get the chance to at National League weekends, and it has offered many experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Last summer I spent a week in both Munich and Geneva commentating on European tournaments, spending time meeting new people from across the continent, making new friends and enjoying two beautiful cities.

However, the highlight of my commentary career so far is undoubtedly flying out to Sydney, Australia to commentate on the FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup. Eight days spent watching, immersing myself in, and commentating on the absolute pinnacle of our sport was the best experience of my life. The clashes of style and culture, the passion from the fans and players, the comradery between nations, it was simply a joy to be around such a melting pot of love for our sport.

So, that is my story so far, and this blog is the next step on my journey. You can expect a lot of talk about football and sport in general, as well as updates on Sevenoaks PFC and my life in general. I’m sure there’ll be a healthy debate about some of my footballing opinions, but I hope you enjoy the content nevertheless!