Sheffield Deaflympian Giving 75 Young Footballers International Opportunity

A Sheffield football coach who recently represented Great Britain at the Deaflympics is now giving 75 young players from across the city the opportunity to experience international football for themselves.

Joe Dixon, founder of YP-Academy, will travel to Belgium alongside 75 players – aged from 10 to 15 - and 12 members of staff as part of the academy’s first-ever Global Games Series international tour.

For many of the young players, the trip will be their first experience of playing football overseas.

Joe, who has represented the England Deaf Men's Football Team and Great Britain Deaf Men’s team for more than a decade, recently competed at the Deaflympics and has previously captained the England Deaf Under-21s squad. Alongside leading YP-Academy, he has also coached at Bradford City A.F.C. and Sheffield United F.C., as well as coaching internationally in Canada.

Joe said: “Representing your country is an incredible honour, and I want our players to experience that same pride of stepping into another country and representing where they come from.

“Months of hard work and preparation have gone into making this trip possible, and the Global Games Series is about creating lifelong memories and giving our players the opportunity to experience football culture in a different country.

“It will be a proud moment to see our players step onto Belgian soil wearing our shirts and representing our institution with pride.”

Now, he is focused on creating life-changing opportunities for young people across Sheffield

YP-Academy was founded to provide opportunities for young players of all backgrounds and abilities, from academy and JPL players to recreational footballers aged six and above.

The Sheffield-based academy delivers technical group sessions, elite one-to-one coaching and development camps across Graves SGP, Norton Sports Park and Gosforth Sports Association.

While recognising that only a small percentage of players will go on to become professionals, the academy places equal importance on confidence, wellbeing, discipline and transferable life skills.

Joe added: “Football has the power to change lives. We want young people to believe in themselves, enjoy the game and understand that they can achieve great things both on and off the pitch.”

The Belgium tour marks a major milestone for YP-Academy and is expected to be the first of many international opportunities for young footballers from Sheffield.

 For more information visit https://yp-academy.com/