Olly Johnson is a 20-year-old blind footballer from Chorley, Lancashire. In the 2026 Disability FA Cup blind football final, he will be playing for the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC).
The EE Disability FA Cup Finals return to St. George’s Park on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June 2026. Now in its 10th consecutive year, the weekend sees some of the best impairment-specific footballers in the country compete in six finals over two days, including amputee, partially sighted, blind, cerebral palsy, powerchair and deaf.
As part of the build-up to this decisive disability sporting event, our editor Emma Purcell got the opportunity to interview Olly about how he got into blind football, his success on the pitch both domestically and internationally and how disability sport has played a big part in his independence and confidence.
Olly Johnson on being introduced to blind football
At 16, Olly Johnson was diagnosed with a rare genetic eye condition, causing him to lose the majority of his sight. He went on to attend the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC), which, in 2008, opened the world’s first Football Academy for the Blind.
Since then, the college has hosted major international events, including the 2010 IBSA Blind Football World Championships, while its football team has established itself as one of Europe’s leading blind football clubs. RNC has won back-to-back Disability FA Cup titles, League Cup wins, National League titles and claimed European Blind Football League titles, while also developing numerous players who have gone on to represent England.
Olly, who primarily plays in a forward role, described how he was introduced to blind football and how he was supported by one of England’s most successful blind footballers:
“Growing up, I was always involved in football, whether it was watching my favourite team QPR, or playing the game myself. Therefore, when I lost my sight at 16, I initially really struggled not being able to take part in the sport I loved.
“This is where blind football comes in. I was first introduced to an England international, and now teammate of mine, Azeem Amir. We met up just as I started college, helping me come to terms with my sight loss and how much I could still achieve in my life. Azeem took me under his wing, allowing me to train with him and his coach, learning the basics of the sport and being able to play my first competitive matches since my sight loss.
“When I was 18 years old, I decided to move away from home and start studying at the RNC. This was a life changing decision for me, not only in terms of my independence, but for my football career as well. Training here allowed me to receive guidance and support from England coaches, whilst also being able to train alongside other, more experienced players. This allowed me to grow massively as a player, being given the opportunity to play in more and more high level games and competitions.”
Olly Johnson on RNC’s preparations for the Disability FA Cup final
RNC’s recent honours include the 2025/26 National Blind Football League title and the National Blind Football Cup, underlining its status as one of the country’s leading blind football teams.
RNC also strengthened their lead at the top of the European Blind Football League by winning both of their home fixtures in Hereford, defeating Pirsos Thessaloniki 5-0 and Cécifoot Charleroi 2-0 to remain unbeaten and on course for a third consecutive European title. The competition will resume after the summer break, with the final two rounds scheduled to take place in Poland and Italy during September and October.
Reflecting on his own achievements this season, Olly said:
“On a personal level, this season has been really positive for me. I have been able to push on massively from last season, being trusted and involved in more high-pressure matches. These opportunities have given me great confidence , allowing me to express myself and try new things against high levels of opposition.
“Leading up to the FA Cup final, I have helped my team win both the domestic league and the League Cup. This again has allowed me to grow in confidence, scoring some crucial goals throughout the campaign. Alongside the rest of the team, I am continuing to train really hard to be best prepared for the final, hoping to change the outcome of the previous season’s result.”
Last year, West Bromwich Albion Blind clinched victory in the blind football FA Cup final with a 2-0 win against RNC. The two teams face off again in this year’s final, and Olly believes his team has what it takes to win it this time.
He added: “If we continue to play as we have all season, there is no reason why we can’t win the final this season. As blind football is quite a small community, we have played West Brom a few times throughout this year. We now know how to compete against a strong squad and achieve results against them in the league this season. I am confident going into the final that if we play together as a team, we should have a great chance of winning this year.”
Read: Mo Ahmed: Blind Football Star Aiming For Treble Glory In The 2025 Disability FA Cup Final
Olly Johnson on his international career with England blind football team
Olly has also represented England at international level. He made his debut for the England men’s blind football team in November 2024. Since then, he has been lucky enough to represent his country a further 14 times, making some incredible memories both on and off the pitch, and experiencing different cultures from all across the world.
“One of my main highlights from representing England would be winning the Nations Cup in India last October”, said Olly.
“The camaraderie that we had built as a team over the tournament was amazing, testing ourselves against some really tough opposition along the way. I will never forget the feeling after my teammate, Eesa scored the winner in the final with less than a second to go, such an incredible moment that will stick with me for the rest of my life.”
He continued: “Currently, we are preparing for our European Championships this summer in Strasborg. This will be my first major tournament with England so I am super excited to get playing and hopefully help the team achieve some more success as we push towards Paralympic qualification in the next couple of years.”
Growing blind football for future generations
Despite TNT Sports’ schedule to broadcast the Disability FA Cup finals live, like many other disability footballers and elite para athletes, Olly feels disability sport deserves more media coverage:
“Para sport in general does not get enough coverage. It is great that the Disability FA Cup finals are being broadcast, but it would be amazing if more league and international games could start to receive coverage on them as well.
“I feel like sometimes para sports have a stigma around them that they cant be at the same level as mainstream sports, putting people off watching them. However, this is not the case at all. The skill level of players, especially in blind football, is ridiculously high, relying on other senses whilst still performing at a high pace and standard throughout the game.
“With more coverage of games and the sport in general, it will encourage more young people to get involved, helping the sport grow, but more importantly, it would allow more young disabled people to have the same opportunities in sport as their able-bodied counterparts.”
Until the media coverage grows, Olly wants to use his own skills and experiences to help inspire the next generation of Blind footballers. Although not considering professional coaching, he would love to try and help young people in the sport, passing on his knowledge whilst allowing them to grow in the sport.
Olly said: “There is not nearly enough support for blind kids, especially when it comes to sport, so I would love the opportunity to help more people be involved in football, showing them that there is still a lot that they can do in their life.”
Read: An Award-Winning Grassroots Coach Shares The Benefits Of Volunteering In Disability Football
How sport and music shape Olly Johnson’s life
Away from blind football, Olly admits he has always been a really active person, stating, “For me, sport is what makes me happy.”
He continued: “Over the years I have competed in half marathons, different water sports, or activities with friends and family. I love being able to socialise, compete and enjoy taking part in exercise.
He added: “Alongside this, I also love my music, especially live. There is no better feeling than hearing music live and I have been lucky enough to see some great artists live over the past few years. Music is also an essential wit football. Whether its before a game or on a training camp, music helps me prepare mentally and calms me down before taking part, especially when it’s a high-pressure situation.”
Finding independence and life fulfilment through blind football
As someone who only lost his sight about four years ago, Olly opened up about the challenges he has faced since going blind and the support he has received to grow his independence through his time as a student at RNC:
“Initially, I struggled massively with everyday tasks, being unable to complete them in the way I would prior to my visual impairment. However, since starting at the RNC, I have been able to regain a lot of my independence, cooking, cleaning, and traveling on my own. I have found ways to adapt what I previously could do, allowing me to still live an independent and fulfilled life. New technology such as the meta AI glasses and other equipment has been essential for me, allowing me to put these adaptations into place.
“Saying this, however, there are still challenges that I face on a day-to-day basis. For example, this could be something as simple as knowing the difference between different food packets in a cupboard or trying to navigate around an unfamiliar area. Learning new routes can take time, especially if they are long ones, so this can also reduce independence, having to rely on others to get where I want to go.
“There are always going to be challenges arising in my day to day life, that is just the nature of my condition, however, I now feel confident at combatting them, feeling like I am still able to lead just as good of a life, if not better than before I lost my sight.”
Lastly, Olly shared some valuable advice to other people going through sight loss and who still may want to find their passion for sport and maybe want to get involved in blind football:
“My main piece of advice for anyone considering getting involved in blind football or any other adaptive sport would be to have an open mind and give everything a go. For me, I really struggled initially as the sport was different to the football that I knew, it took me a while to take that step and go to that first training session. However, after playing a few times, it really opened my mind to how incredible the sport was and that I could still play, something I never thought would be possible again.
“This led me to fall in love with the sport, making some amazing memories with some special people along the way. Blind football really changed my life, it allowed me to come to terms properly with my visual impairment, being back involved with a team in the sport that I loved.
“I would say to anyone considering playing to go for it! It has helped me in so many ways, from meeting like-minded people who have a similar story to me, to representing my country at an elite level, the sport has shown that I can still achieve everything I wanted to from my life and it can do the same to you too!”
Follow Olly Johnson and RNC Sports Academy on Instagram.
The Royal National College for the Blind and West Bromwich Albion Blind FC will face off in the blind Disability FA Cup final on Saturday 27th June 2026 at 3:10pm, live from St. George’s Park and broadcast on TNT Sports.
TNT Sports will show every single minute of the action starting from 9.30am through to 5pm on TNT Sports 3 and streamed on HBO Max with accessible coverage of all six games. British Sign Language, with subtitles (TNT Sports 3 & HBO Max) and Enhanced Audio Description delivered by an expert based at St George’s Park (TNT Sports 5 & HBO Max) will be available for viewers.
Each game will also be made available later in the day for anyone to watch on the England Football YouTube channel.
To find out more about blind football, you can visit the National Blind Football League Facebook page and follow on Instagram.