As part of Special Olympics European Football Week, which runs from 17 to 25 May, we’re celebrating the powerful ways football is changing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.

To kick things off, we’re sharing the inspiring journey of Charlie Hood, a Special Olympics Essex athlete who trains weekly at Porters Soccability and experienced the unforgettable high of winning a bronze medal with Team Special Olympics GB at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.

 

“I love everything about football,” says Charlie.

“I’ve been playing for as long as I can remember, but it’s given me my best friends, helped me stay fit, and given me focus and discipline. Without football, I wouldn’t have had the chance to train under the England manager, play in a Bundesliga stadium, become a coach, go to 10 Downing Street, or win a medal at a Special Olympics World Games.

“It’s given me lots of confidence to be more independent and work full-time.”

Charlie was born with cerebral palsy, an intellectual disability, and is also deaf.

“He was very low on confidence in his early years,” says his dad, Mick Hood, a volunteer with Special Olympics Essex and a founding volunteer of Porters Soccability.

“Although he was fit, he struggled with mobility and academically. But sport became a leveller—he could get fitter, stronger, and compete alongside his peers.”

“He always dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. That was always going to be a challenge, but his work ethic was incredible. Ask him to run two laps, he’d do four. He’d spend hours outside, kicking a ball against the wall, practising his control. And he was constantly watching football.”

Mick, a lifelong Millwall fan, introduced Charlie to the club as a child.

“In his first season, we reached the League One Playoff Final. We went to Wembley together and saw Millwall beat Swindon 1–0 to earn promotion to the Championship. After that, he was hooked!”

However, finding inclusive football opportunities proved difficult.

“We tried a local cerebral palsy club, but the focus was purely on performance. It wasn’t welcoming for all abilities. That changed when we met Nigel [Stuart], who had similar experiences with his son Bradley. Who’d have thought that years later, we’d be watching our sons win bronze at the World Games in Berlin?”

Porters Soccability began in 2014 as a pan-disability football club based at Cedar Hall School in Benfleet, where Charlie went to secondary school. Today, the club welcomes over 65 disability footballers every Saturday, including 25 registered Special Olympics GB athletes aged between nine and 65-years-old.

“I was really nervous joining the group at first,” says Charlie. “But I got to know the other athletes quickly, and it gave me confidence—confidence I now use both on and off the pitch.”

At the end of 2022, Charlie was selected for a Unified Football team to represent Special Olympics GB at the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin—joining several of his Porters teammates and coach Nigel Stuart.

“Berlin gave me the chance to live like a professional footballer, which I’d always dreamed of,” says Charlie. “We trained at St. George’s Park, met Gareth Southgate and Steve Clarke, and even had a session with England legend Stuart Pearce.”

Before the Games began, the team played a warm-up match at the MHPArena (Neckarstadion), home of VfB Stuttgart, as part of the Host Town experience.

“Standing in that 60,000-capacity stadium about to kick off a match with some of my best mates—it was surreal. I had to pinch myself.”

After six matches in the Unified tournament, Team Special Olympics GB faced Germany in the bronze medal match—played in torrential rain. They won a thrilling encounter 4–3, returning to Porters Soccability as heroes.

“I’ve tried to use my medal to inspire the younger players,” Charlie says.
“I want them to know that they can have the same experience I did if they work hard.”

“One of my proudest moments,” adds Mick, “was watching Charlie coach the younger players when they got back. He held up his medal and told them they could achieve anything. Too many people with disabilities are told what they can't do—Charlie and the others have shown what’s possible.”

Since Berlin, Charlie has started working full-time at Aldi, a milestone he credits to the confidence gained through football.

His weekends remain all about the sport. On Saturdays, he trains with Porters in the morning, then coaches the younger group as a FA Level 1 qualified coach. After that, it’s off to the Den to watch Millwall with Mick.

“We go home and away,” says Mick. “Charlie’s probably seen them at 45 different away grounds. After Berlin, he was even featured in the club fanzine!”

“Football has played such a big part in both our lives,” Mick reflects. “And we’re still loving every moment it gives us—on and off the pitch.”