Football dreams come true for teenager with rare genetic condition

Ismail Patel, 19, is believed to be the oldest person in the UK with the condition Pompe Disease.

The Astley Bridge resident uses a powerchair and has been playing football since he was just 11-years-old and is now part of the powerchair football club, the Bolton Bullets.

Mr Patel, who trains every day in Smithills, said: Mr Patel said: "Playing football is important to me as it gives me independence and always gives me something to strive for.

"It is my livelihood and I am always looking forward to playing and my next challenge."

The only thing slowing him down was his out-of-date powerchair.

In May, The Bolton News reported on Mr Patel’s fundraising campaign to get a modern chair to achieve his footballing potential.

When launching the appeal, he said: "During a game, the chair would give me the independence to not have as much help from the coach as my hand constantly falls off my current chair due to the design.

"Also, it would enable me to compete at a higher level as everyone else has the newer chair they are running circles around me even though I know I have the ability to more than match them with technique and skill."

Mr Patel raised over £1,300 through donations to a fundraising page, but was still far from the £7,660 needed to buy the chair when a national charity, the Association for Glycogen Storage Disease, became involved in his case.

The AGSD won five grants worth more than £5,000 to get Mr Patel the chair. The state-of-the-art equipment is now on order and will be delivered in September.

A spokesman for the charity said: “Nothing could be better than getting a chair for Ismail.”

With the new chair, Mr Patel can go for his goal of playing for England one day.

He said: "My footballing aspirations are to get promoted to the premiership in the national league.

"I would love to one day play for England which is a life goal of mine and definitely on the bucket list."