FA Chair Debbie Hewitt MBE has paid tribute to Joseph Adams, a football-mad 21 year old who has raised over £350,000 for a local disability sport programme.
Joseph has Down Syndrome, but has a real passion for sports and making football accessible for all, so he set about raising funds to support the appointment of a Disability Sports Officer at his beloved Altrincham FC, where he also works part-time in the club shop.
Joseph’s story is inspiring. When he was born, his parents, Phil and Julie read about all the things he wouldn’t be able to do because he has Down Syndrome.
But they vowed that rather than accepting what he couldn’t do, they would treat him like his three sisters and find out what he could do.
Joseph has gone on to pursue his many passions from football, dancing, skiing and Special Olympics swimming, winning multiple gold medals along the way.
Joseph didn’t walk until he was three. He hated running and had never run more than a mile. Yet he decided to take on his biggest challenge to date this summer, attempting to run 100k in five days, with ten 10ks in ten countries.
His mission took him across the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Belgium (Liege), Luxembourg, Germany (Heidelberg), Austria (Bregenz), Switzerland (Zurich), Italy (Como), Monaco, France (Nice), and England (Altrincham).
The idea of the Joseph Adams “No Limits Challenge” was born. Think Hardest Geezer meets Race Across the World!
Joseph convinced his parents and three sisters to join him on the run, with the aim of raising £100k for a disability sports programme across the local area, including some of the most economically disadvantaged parts of Manchester. He also wanted to break down preconceptions about what people with special needs can achieve.
“He is an extraordinary young man, who sees “No Limits” to what he can do,” said Debbie.
“Ahead of his run, we were delighted to host Joseph at Wembley for England’s game with Iceland in June, where we gave him an England shirt signed by Harry Kane to spur him on.
“Sale Sharks did their bit too, with a visit to their training ground and a signed shirt. Joseph also became a local radio and TV star, as the story of his challenge was shared on many social media channels and he won Cheshire FA’s ‘Think Positive’ award in May.
“As news of Joseph’s initiative spread far and wide, the sponsorship funding grew and Joseph’s plans became more ambitious.
“Not only was there likely to be sufficient sponsorship to fund a Disability Sports Officer – there was enough pledged to start planning for a social enterprise to support adults with special needs with training and employment. All Joseph had to do was deliver his challenge. No pressure then!”
The challenge began on 27 August, with his first run in Amsterdam, the second in Liege, where he was invited to FC Standard Liege’s ground for a presentation of the club shirt, and then Luxembourg, where he was hosted by Carine Nardecchia, president of the nation’s Women’s Football Committee and her colleagues from the Luxembourg FA who arranged a national team shirt to motivate Joseph on his journey.
Heidelberg was next, then Bregenz and Zurich on the 29 August, followed by Como the next day when he was hosted by FC Como and received another shirt, much to the interest of the locals.
Then it was onto Monaco and penultimately, Nice in the south of France.
Joseph was spurred on in his quest with good luck videos from Jill Scott, Rory McIlroy, Stevie Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Steve McManaman, Andriy Shevchenko and Harry Maguire – all of whom had taken time out to record a personal message which helped Joseph get through the toughest moments.
He finished his challenge on 1 September with the 10k run in Altrincham, where many were there to cheer him on as he crossed the finishing line, after taking a detour to run through Altrincham FC’s stadium.
After completing the race, he returned to the stadium with his runner’s medal proudly hanging around his neck as the club hosted a magnificent welcome home party for Joseph, where he was given a hero’s reception by the Altrincham first team and their coach Phil Parkinson.
Alongside the players, it was attended by many other local dignitaries including Connor Rand, the local MP. The supporters were welcomed by co-chairs Bill Waterson and Lawrence Looney and it was quite poignant to see Alex Heywood, Altrincham’s first sports disability officer, in attendance having been recruited using the funds raised by Joseph’s challenge.
She was so thrilled to get the opportunity to build the disability credentials for the club. It was pretty uplifting to hear that ‘No Limits’ has raised over £350k.
As he reflected on the last few months, Joseph explained the lessons he has learned:-
* - Most people are incredibly kind and go out of their way to support you when you put yourself out there.
* - If you go for one per cent improvement and don’t cap your expectations, you can really surprise yourself
* - Don’t be afraid to ask
And Debbie Hewitt summed it up perfectly, by adding: “An inspiring young man, who has taught us that if you apply your mind to it, there really are ‘No Limits’.”
