The latest episode of series three of our Football & Me programme focuses on para and disability football.
Taking place at St. George's Park, host Zoiey Smale was joined by a panel made up of Selina Prieto of the England women's blind squad, Azim Amir of the England men's blind squad and the FA's para talent inclusion lead, Liam Drake.
The trio discussed their roles and what para football has meant to them in terms of the opportunities and joy from participating in football.
"It's not been a normal journey and football hasn't always been on my radar although I did try out for the football team at primary school because I didn't get in the netball team!
"I didn't have an interest in football, it was actually in athletics and there was no such thing as an England women's blind team until about 2022 and that's when my interest sparked.
"So I decided to take it up at the age of 34 and it's gone pretty well!"
Amir added: "My vision impairment was something I was presented with at birth so I grew up in a very mainstream envioronment and never come across anyone with a disability or who was blind or visually impaired.
"Growing up, school would get creative in trying to find sports that were accessible and allow me to take part, and football was the sport that I loved and it wasn't until the age of 12 or 13 when I came across blind football.
"Not only did it change my life, but it has presented me with so many opportunities on and off the pitch."
For Drake, in his role to help provide opportunities for players, he believes now is a great time to be involved with more teams and types of para football being available to people.
"We've got so many more playing opportunities. In 2023, we had every one of our seven teams in a major championship and we've got the potential to exceed that in the coming years.
"The coverage of those opportunities is now greater with the vision around the game and it's becoming more professionalised now too.
"There's a huge amount of visibility around para sports, but it's not just about the Paralympics, there's so much more going on."
The Football & Me series initially highlighted positive stories from Asian participants across the game, with the aim of inspiring people within Asian communities to play a bigger part in English football on and off the pitch.
And it proved to be a very successful campaign, featuring players, coaches and match officials of Asian heritage discussing their inspirational journeys to date
Now, series three has covered a wider range of EDI topics, such as Black History Month, International Women's Day, grassroots football and South Asian Heritage Month.
