A woman with impaired vision is bidding for a spot in the 2024 Paralympics after qualifying for the World Championships in Goalball.

Meme Robertson, from Colne, will be representing team GB at the IBSA Goalball World Championships 2022 this month in Portugal.

Meme will be flying out with her teammates for their first game against Brazil on Thursday, December 8.

She said: “It’s a massive thing, we have never qualified for a world championship without being the host nation.

“It’s the first time we have properly qualified for it and a big step for the team.

“It’s a great stepping stone for going to the Paralympics and we hope to get there.

“It gives us more of a chance to qualify."

There will be a total of 16 women’s teams competing for the top two spots that give automatic qualification into the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

The championships, which are one of three qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Paralympics, will see the women face competition from across the globe. 

The GB squad will play seven consecutive days of round-robin competition against each of the seven teams in their group before medal games will be played.

Goalball is a three-a-side game with an aim of scoring goals into the net against the opposing team.

All players wear blackout eyeshades so rely on their other senses such as touch and sound.

The goalball itself weighs over 1kg and has two bells inside so players can hear it.