18 January 2024 , 12:00
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James Owen dreamed of following in his famous father ’s footsteps, even though few could match his dad’s killer instinct in front of goal.
Although Michael’s career was well down the road by the time James was born in February 2006, he still went to the World Cup that summer, played two more years for England and was at Manchester United up until James was six, sparking a future desire in the youngster.
Owen junior was one of the best players in his age-group teams while growing up, with hopes of fulfilling his dream of keeping the family business going by becoming a professional. But that hope died on a diagnosis of Stargardt Disease, a condition that affects the eyes’ central detailed vision, and made a career in football an impossible dream instead.
However, now 17, James has developed a new outlook on the game after spending time around the England partially-sighted men’s football team.
“I got diagnosed when I was quite young, so I can't really remember it all because I was pretty much straight onto football, but I used to play all the time,” James tells Mirror Football at a screening of his and Michael's TNT Sports documentary ‘Football is for Everyone’. “When I got diagnosed that was hard, but I didn't stop straight away.
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“I kept playing, but Stargardt's is a deterioration so after a while it just got to the point where I knew I couldn't make a career out of it and I was starting to... I wouldn't say get worse but everyone (else) was getting better. I kind of lost enjoyment out of it from that point of view. I used to play quite often but I don't play any more.”
“I was still one of the best players. I don't think my eyesight really held me back in the teams I used to play for, but it did hold me back to the point where it would be an option to go professional.
“I think what I wanted to do is I wanted to go professional and obviously it was frustrating to a point where over a while it just kind of lost the fun. I still love to play football with my mates here and there, and to be honest if I could go back I probably would have kept playing for a year or two more, but at the time I was frustrated and it was a bit draining.”
James and Michael spent time around the England men's partially-sighted football team (TNT Sports)Michael and James both learned about partially sighted football as part of ‘Football is for Everyone’. The game is played on futsal pitches, with four partially-sighted outfielders joined by a sighted goalkeeper, with the format helping those who struggle with certain colours and with sight over longer distances.
“From a technical point of view, James was always talented,” Michael explains. “When the ball was at his feet, he's got great balance, he's quick, he's a good dribbler, and I thought to myself 'he's got a right chance'. But then the older he got, the more those [other] things became more important, and that's where he sort of gradually stopped playing.
England hosted the 2023 IBSA World Games, which involved the men’s partially sighted team - including players with Stargardt's - as well as men’s and women’s blind teams. Michael and James followed the team on their journey as they looked to go one better than their 2019 run, where they were beaten by Ukraine in the final.
James and Michael Owen in their Football is for Everyone documentary (TNT Sports)“Interestingly, when James actually put his boots back on during this documentary, to play, I think he and I and everyone had the impression it might be a really average standard because people's eyesight is poor and all the rest of it,” Michael adds. “But it was just incredible, the standard.
“James was lucky enough to participate in the training session and scored a goal, actually, which was great. But it's done to a really high standard and that's one of the things that blew us away, really, doing the documentary.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the level of ability of these players. A very high standard that I didn't expect, and nor did James for that matter. He's had such a gap in his career in many ways, he's not played football properly for four or five years, so I thought it was always going to be pie in the sky if you thought James was going to all of a sudden play with the England team and be the best player in the group and play the game for ever more.
“But what it has made him realise is that football is there for everyone, there's lots of things out there that people don't realise, to make it more accessible for everybody else, and James is keen to spread the word for other people in his situation.”
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‘Football is for Everyone’ starring Michael and James Owen premieres on TNT Sports 1 at 11pm on 30 th January. Sign up to TNT Sports and discovery+ here