Karl Townshend says the exposure that the 2015 Cerebral Palsy World Championships has received will undoubtedly boost England at future tournaments – starting with the Paralympics.
The 31-year-old defender is with the Three Lions CP team at St. George’s Park, where the 12-day tournament will reach its climax on Sunday.
England’s first two games – against Japan and Ukraine – were completely sold out, with three national broadcasters also in attendance.
England v Ireland
Cerebral Palsy World Championships
Fifth-place play-off
7pm, Saturday 27 June
Buy tickets here
The strong media showing, Townshend says, will only serve to increase awareness of the seven-a-side game and, in turn, the quality within the England squad.
“For the first game we had Sky, BBC and ITV all here covering it – and there is somebody out there who might have been watching and will have picked up the phone hoping to get involved,” he told TheFA.com.
“At the next camp in August there could be three or four players from this – which would be great.”
Townshend is speaking from experience.
Born with Cerebral Palsy – a condition which can affect balance, movement and coordination – he was unaware of CP football for much of his life.
It was not until the he watched the Paralympics that he realised there could be something in it for him.
“I didn’t know about disability football until I was about 25,” he said.
Karl Townshend in action for England against Japan
“I watched the Beijing Paralympics in 2008 and thought I could play in that team. So I got in touch – and the rest is history I guess.
“I’d always played mainstream football. I never thought of myself as different and I certainly wasn’t raised any differently.
“I’ve got a couple of brothers and we were all raised exactly the same.
“But I got in touch and the manager at the time came to watch me. A month later I was in Australia at the Arafura Games winning a gold medal.”
That was back in 2009, and the down-to-earth no-nonsense defender has been involved with England ever since.
At 31 he is the oldest member of the current CP squad, and acknowledges that he may face a battle for his place, with a likely influx of new players on the way.
“After this tournament I fully expect people to come in and improve the quality of the squad”
Karl Townshend England CP
But the Arsenal enthusiast from Edmonton says it’s something that can only benefit the team.
“We get new players every year,” he continued. “In the time I’ve been in the squad we’ve had two or three new players come in each season.
“Since I started in 2009 there’s only Martin [Sinclair] and [Michael] Barker that are here now.
“It’s not a case of people retiring, it’s a case of better players coming in.
“So after this tournament I fully expect people to come in and improve the quality of the squad. It certainly keeps you on your toes.”
England CP go head-to-head for a record high fifth-place finish at 7pm on Saturday 27 June. Tickets for the game at St. George’s Park are available here.
