User:Jpoulli/sandbox/Mikey Poulli

Mikey Poulli
Mikey Poulli (born Michael Gino John Poulli; 22nd April 2010) is an aspiring England Blind professional footballer.

Early Life
Mikey Poulli was born on 22 April 2010, at the QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, Hertforshire, England. He has one younger brother called Angelo. His father John Poulli is of Greek Cypriot descent, and his mother Mireille Poulli is of French Mauritian descent and were both born and brought up in London, England.

Born and bred in North London, as soon as Mikey was able to walk and run he was always playing with a football. He grew up loving football and is a huge Arsenal fan due to his father John. He played and watched Arsenal at every opportunity, attending games regularly with his family and always wanted to be a professional footballer.

Mikey enjoyed playing for a local club from around 4 years old, till 6 and a half years old until his family received devastating news regarding Mikey's vision.

Rod Cone Dystrophy / Retinitis Pigmentosa
When Mikey was 6 years old his parents took him for a routine eye test, and a few months later was unexpectedly diagnosed with a rare incurable eye disease called ‘Rod Cone Dystrophy’ that in most cases eventually leads to blindness. Doctors were unsure at the time how much vision Mikey could potentially lose or how long it would take, but sadly Mikey lost all his vision within around 18 months when he was just over 7 years old. Doctors could not believe how quickly Mikey lost all his vision from being near perfectly sighted. His parents tried everything they could to save his sight, even trying safe alternative treatments such as acupuncture which consisted of needles being placed in and around Mikey’s eyes and body on a weekly basis, but unfortunately nothing could stop the devastating disease. Mikey started the 2016 football season very well sighted, but by the end of that season had to stop playing at his local club as his vision had deteriorated to the extent that he was officially legally blind and therefore too dangerous for him and the other children to carry on. Mikey was devastated, not mainly because of his vision loss, but because of not being able to carry on playing football at his club, but was adamant and would still tell his parents he wanted to become a professional footballer.

Mikey's parents are doing all they can to raise awareness of his eye condition in hope of a cure one day, and have started a JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mikeypoulli?utm_term=52EyAjZg7.

Scouted for England
Mikey would not give up his dream of playing football and would still play with his father John, and brother Angelo at every given opportunity. Soon after his vision loss his parents found a Visually Impaired Football session at the Tottenham Hotspur Centre of Excellence where specialist coaches would carry out sessions for disabled children. In Mikey’s first session, a football coach noticed Mikey’s natural ability, and informed the FA in the first instance who sent scouts to monitor him in training. Within a few weeks Mikey received confirmation of FA funding for 1 to 1 specialist coaching with the potential of playing internationally for England one day. Mikey is the youngest person to ever be scouted to play for their country.

Since then videos of Mikey playing football have gone viral on social media sites, branding him a ‘Phenomenon’ and the ‘Daredevil of Football’, multiple TV interviews and appearances in the UK and abroad, recognition from professional footballers old and new and pundits, along with multiple articles by the major news outlets.

Mikey continues to train with England weekly and is thriving in developing his football ability. He has been earmarked to become a future footballing star by the England Manager who is tracking his progress.

Mikey Goes Viral
In November 2018, a video that Mikey's dad had created and shared on Twitter showcasing his blind football skills went viral reaching over 420k views. Soon after Mikey appeared on many TV News channels such as Good Morning Britain, ITV News, BBC News, BEIN Sports, Premier League Fan Zone, amongst many others around the World, as well as many social media accounts sharing Mikey's story reaching millions of views.

Meeting The Stars
Mikey has met quite a few stars so far, and they've been so inspired by him that they let Mikey feel their faces and hair to see what they look like, including Anthony Joshua, Mesut Ozil, Alexander Lacazette, Jadon Sancho and Tim Cahill.

Nutmegging Trent Alexander Arnold
In October 2019, Mikey was invited by England to play football with Trent Alexander Arnold and Jadon Sancho. Mikey is filmed nutmegging Trent on purpose.

Pride of Sport 2019 Winner - Young Achievers Award
In December 2019 Mikey was awarded the Young Achievers Award at the Pride of Sport Awards, and was presented the trophy by Arsenal Legends David Seaman and Kelly Smith.

Sir Kenny Dalglish was also present, in awe and inspired by what Mikey had overcome.

Lionel Messi OrCam Glasses and his DreamTeam
In September 2020, Lionel Messi gifted Mikey a life-changing pair of OrCam glasses. Messi linked up with the Israel-based company to launch a partnership with them to increase awareness of the challenges faced by the blind and the visually impaired community globally.

Every year, Messi gifts the OrCam MyEye device to people with inspiring stories who are blind or visually impaired, some of whom he will personally meet in Barcelona. These individuals will then consequently become members of the so-called 'OrCam Dream Team,' which is led by Messi.

Arsenal X Adidas advert
In September 2020, Mikey appeared in the Arsenal X Adidas advert alongside Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka and Vivianne Miedema.