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Powys County Times
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Harry Baker hopes strong run for England Cerebral Palsy inspires next generation
England Cerebral Palsy international Harry Baker hopes a successful run at the European Championship on home soil can help inspire the next generation of young players on their own journey through pan-disability football. The 2025 International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football European Championships will be held at Loughborough University from August 13 to 23. The Para Lions have been drawn in Group One along with defending champions Ukraine, Spain and Northern Ireland, with Andy Smith's 14-man squad set to be based at St George's Park throughout the competition. From the earliest I can remember I always wanted to play football for Man United & England. I never thought I'd be able to achieve this. When I finally I realised I could get the chance to play for England it became my dream to play in a major final. — Harry Baker (@HarryJohnBaker) June 11, 2023 Baker is preparing for his 10th major tournament with England, having been part of the CP squad which finished runners-up at the 2023 European Championships and were then also edged out by Ukraine on penalties in the quarter-finals of last year's World Cup in Spain. The 28-year-old from Oxfordshire, who is left-sided hemiplegic and more affected in his leg, had been playing mainstream football growing up before being scouted by the Northampton Pan-Disability team when he was 12. Baker progressed through to the England Under-21 development team and then, not long after he had turned 16, was called-up into the senior national squad. The Football Association's England Para Talent Pathway runs from grassroots through to elite level, offering support and direction for players with specific impairments however far their own journey may take them. 'I am very fortunate as I this is my 13th year at international level, after I found it (pan-disability football) at such an early stage,' Baker told the PA news agency. 'But there are others (in the England squad) who found it a lot later and they have missed out on some opportunities to play and represent their country. Our England Cerebral Palsy squad has been named for next month's @ifcpf European Championship! 👊 The tournament takes place at Loughborough University, with our opening game on Friday 15 August. — England (@England) July 31, 2025 'It is, though, not just inspiring people to try and play for their country, because football is for everyone – and some people think they can't play football and they don't think there is a safe space to do it. 'So it is just raising awareness that these opportunities are here and having this sort of spectacle, especially in our country as well, can really show that there are things out there. 'They might go 'I have got a different type of disability to cerebral palsy, but this is on, so maybe there is something for partially sighted or deaf players, in pan-disability, whatever disability they might have.' England start against Northern Ireland before playing Ukraine and then Spain as Smith's side look to secure a top-two place to progress to knockout stage of the tournament, with Scotland and the Republic of Ireland in the other group. View this post on Instagram A post shared by IFCPF (CP Football) (@ifcpf) 'Regardless of what side of the draw you are on, it wasn't going to be easy,' Baker said. 'We really thrive when we are against the very best, so we are really looking forward to playing against them all.' Baker added: 'It is definitely home advantage because we get to stay at St George Park, which makes a huge difference. 'We can use all the facilities – so it gives us control of food and control of our recovery, which will be vital. 'Also having your family to be able to come and watch, I think gives an extra incentive to go out and try and really put on a show.'
The Herald Scotland
11-08-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Harry Baker hopes strong run for England Cerebral Palsy inspires next generation
The Para Lions have been drawn in Group One along with defending champions Ukraine, Spain and Northern Ireland, with Andy Smith's 14-man squad set to be based at St George's Park throughout the competition. From the earliest I can remember I always wanted to play football for Man United & England. I never thought I'd be able to achieve this. When I finally I realised I could get the chance to play for England it became my dream to play in a major final. — Harry Baker (@HarryJohnBaker) June 11, 2023 Baker is preparing for his 10th major tournament with England, having been part of the CP squad which finished runners-up at the 2023 European Championships and were then also edged out by Ukraine on penalties in the quarter-finals of last year's World Cup in Spain. The 28-year-old from Oxfordshire, who is left-sided hemiplegic and more affected in his leg, had been playing mainstream football growing up before being scouted by the Northampton Pan-Disability team when he was 12. Baker progressed through to the England Under-21 development team and then, not long after he had turned 16, was called-up into the senior national squad. The Football Association's England Para Talent Pathway runs from grassroots through to elite level, offering support and direction for players with specific impairments however far their own journey may take them. 'I am very fortunate as I this is my 13th year at international level, after I found it (pan-disability football) at such an early stage,' Baker told the PA news agency. 'But there are others (in the England squad) who found it a lot later and they have missed out on some opportunities to play and represent their country. Our England Cerebral Palsy squad has been named for next month's @ifcpf European Championship! 👊 The tournament takes place at Loughborough University, with our opening game on Friday 15 August. — England (@England) July 31, 2025 'It is, though, not just inspiring people to try and play for their country, because football is for everyone – and some people think they can't play football and they don't think there is a safe space to do it. 'So it is just raising awareness that these opportunities are here and having this sort of spectacle, especially in our country as well, can really show that there are things out there. 'They might go 'I have got a different type of disability to cerebral palsy, but this is on, so maybe there is something for partially sighted or deaf players, in pan-disability, whatever disability they might have.' England start against Northern Ireland before playing Ukraine and then Spain as Smith's side look to secure a top-two place to progress to knockout stage of the tournament, with Scotland and the Republic of Ireland in the other group. 'Regardless of what side of the draw you are on, it wasn't going to be easy,' Baker said. 'We really thrive when we are against the very best, so we are really looking forward to playing against them all.' Baker added: 'It is definitely home advantage because we get to stay at St George Park, which makes a huge difference. 'We can use all the facilities – so it gives us control of food and control of our recovery, which will be vital. 'Also having your family to be able to come and watch, I think gives an extra incentive to go out and try and really put on a show.'
South Wales Argus
24-06-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Patrick-Heselton believes Para Lions can achieve home glory
The former Queens Park Rangers player, who represented Team GB at London 2012, thinks the home support could be the missing piece to take England's Cerebral Palsy team one step better than their second-placed finish last time out. The Para Lions will be gunning for gold in Loughborough, having lost 3-0 to Ukraine in the IFCPF European final in Sardinia in 2023. But with the tournament returning to England for the first time in 10 years, Patrick-Heselton is backing England to deliver the goods. 'Personally, I do think [the home crowd] might just be that extra bit that they need, and it will get them there,' he said. 'It always adds an extra pressure but it's a good pressure and I'm sure it's a pressure they love to have. 'Having competed at London 2012, having the home fans behind you is always massive. You feel like you've got that extra player. 'One thing is you're always loved and celebrated which is great. Having the Euros here, they'll have the whole country behind them, and they know that.' Patrick-Heselton was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame in 2017 after playing in the seven-a-side cerebral palsy team for Team GB. The side reached the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup final where he scored to lead a comeback attempt in an honourable 4-2 defeat to Brazil. Now Patrick-Heselton believes that the growing profile of the Para Lions and Para Lionesses teams will only be enhanced by a home tournament and possible title come August. 'We talk about inspiring a generation, but we can't be inspired by what we don't know and can't see,' he said. 'So having it here, I really think is the next step to trying to promote and inspire the next generation because they can really see it. 'To understand you often need to visually see it to understand and know what it could actually mean in their own lives so that is massive.' The striker, who played professionally for QPR and Stockport County prior to suffering severe head trauma during a car accident in 2006, was speaking at Torriano Primary School as part of the Youth Sport Trust's National School Sports Week. There he was providing crucial representation alongside England rugby international Shaunagh Brown and Olympic sprinter and bobsledder Montell Douglas. It was in the school environment that the Paralympian was first inspired to dream of his potential as he asserted the importance of activity as a child. 'National School Sports Week 2025 is about keeping young people active. Research shows us that not enough kids are active for an hour a day, that is what we're trying to change,' he explained. 'That is a minimum, if you want to do more go for it. You can just see the smiles that it produces. It should be celebrated everywhere every day. 'For me as a sportsperson and an elite athlete it was very much the school environment that helped me to believe that I could go on to do more. 'Every child should be given that opportunity to dream and believe that they can go on to do that, even if they don't go down that path.' Throughout the day pupils at the Camden primary school got to experience a range of activities from archery to gymnastics and participate alongside their sporting heroes, testing themselves on the football pitch alongside Patrick-Heselton. Pupils even dressed up as their sporting heroes for the final day of National School Sports Week known as Sports Star Friday, providing an inspiring experience for the Paralympian himself. 'We've just seen the gymnastics and wow! I don't think I could have done what they were doing,' he said. 'It was superb. While the children were going through it, they were setting out everything they needed, they were in-charge, and they were so in tune with each other. 'That is always a big part of what we do as sportspeople which is the goal setting and planning, and they already had it down.' National School Sports Week is an annual campaign by the Youth Sport Trust, dedicated to celebrating the power of PE, sport, and play to build brighter futures. This year, powered by Sports Direct x Under Armour, marks the 30th anniversary of the Youth Sport Trust, who is a UK leading children's charity for improving young people's wellbeing through sport and play. Visit
