STAFF and students at the University of Worcester are celebrating international call-ups to the Great Britain blind football team.

Keryn Seal, Ajmal Ahmed and Will Norman will represent GB in the five-a-side International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) European Championships in Nantes, France, over the next two weeks.

Sports studies students Seal and Ahmed, and Norman, a widening participation officer at the University, were all part of the GB team that came fifth in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics in August.

They were runners-up in the 2007 European Championships and hope to go one better this time and win the tournament outright.

Seal, 26, who hails from Bridgend, Wales, said: “There have been a few changes in personnel and tactics since Beijing but we’re all very confident that we can go there and win.

“There are always nerves but we feel equipped to do the job, both as individuals and as a team.

“We expect to come up against Spain, who are rated as the number one team in Europe, and they’ve been a bit of a bogey team for us but we’re currently European number two and we’re definitely not just going there to make up the numbers.

“Football is a big part of my life and my passion is playing and getting others involved in the sport. I play to win and strive in my training to become one of the world’s best players.”

David Mycock, sports coaching science lecturer at the university, said: “This is a great opportunity for these players who have been continually supported by all members of staff from the the Institute of Sport and Exercise Science at the university.

“We wish them every success and hope they have a fantastic experience that they will treasure for the rest of their lives.”