Former England striker Michael Owen has said he would do anything to help his son James see again and would “give him my eyes” if he could.
James Owen, 17, was diagnosed with the degenerative eye condition Stargardt disease when he was eight.
Speaking on the BBC Access All podcast, former Liverpool forward Michael Owen said: “You want to swap with him; if I could give him my eyes and we’d do a swap then I would tomorrow of course… I would pay every cent I’ve got to make James see again.”
James said on the podcast that his central vision is “blurry” and that he struggles to see different colours and lights, although he has good peripheral vision.
As a child, James had aspired to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Terry, who began his career at Everton before playing for Bradford, Chester and Rochdale. But it was on the football pitch that the first clues regarding James’ condition emerged.
Although he was good on the ball, James struggled to follow the ball or player movements, and the issue only became more pronounced on bigger pitches.
Michael also noticed his son not looking at the camera when posing for photographs, and they were referred to an eye specialist who gave James his diagnosis – news Michael Owen said was “a hammer blow for any parent”.
The condition is inherited, and Michael Owen said he felt guilt when he learned more about it.
“As a parent you just want everything to be perfect – and he is – but of course it was a sad time,” he said. “Thinking about the future – will he be able to drive? Will he be able to work? All these things run through your mind.”
James initially struggled to come to terms with the diagnosis, but has learned to adapt to his condition and uses different techniques to handle daily life.
“I’ll notice what colour my dad’s jumper is,” he said. “So if I ever go out, then I would be able to recognise him from the colour, not from his face because I struggle with detail.”
Michael said: “He’s just mentally very, very strong. He’s got a great mindset. I’ve got four children and I’m probably the least worried about James’ future.”
Michael and his son will release a new documentary, Football Is For Everyone, telling James’ story and following the visually impaired futsal England team as they compete at the 2023 World Cup in Birmingham.
James joined a training session, but admitted it did not go entirely to plan.
“I actually got megged and then scored an own goal,” he said. “It was not a great moment.”
The documentary will be released on January 30 via TNT Sports and Discovery Plus.
Al Hilal crowned Saudi Pro League champions after Al Hazm hammering
Al Hilal secured their fourth straight Saudi Pro League title after Aleksandar Mitrovic starred in Saturday's 4-1 thrashing of bottom side Al Hazm.
Faiz Selemani restored parity after Mitrovic's 15th-minute opener at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, only for Jorge Jesus' hosts to roar back and be crowned champions with three games remaining.
Ahmed Al Juwaid's own goal handed the initiative back to the dominant Al Hilal, who led 4-1 at the break after Mitrovic added another to his tally and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was on target.
The second of Mitrovic's strikes took him to a team-leading 26 league goals this term as Al Hilal breezed to another title, moving an unassailable 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr.
Jesus' side are unbeaten through all 31 games this season after securing their record-extending 19th top-flight crown in history, while Al Hazm need to win their last three matches to have any chance of staying up.
Al Hazm's relegation rivals Al Tai boosted their chances of survival in Saturday's earlier clash after a 1-1 draw away against Al Raed.
Al Tai are just a point away from 15th-placed Abha Club in their bid for top-flight safety after Ibrahim Al Nakhli's strike was cancelled out by Al Raed's Mohammed Fouzair in the second half.
Al-Ittihad 0-5 Al-Ettifaq: Ekambi scores hat-trick in five-star display
Karl Toko Ekambi netted a hat-trick as Al-Ettifaq got back to winning ways in style with a 5-0 thrashing of Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
He scored twice in four minutes at the end of the first half to send the visitors into the break 4-0 up before getting his third just 10 minutes after the break.
Seko Fofana had already given Steven Gerrard’s side the lead five minutes into the contest, while Moussa Dembele doubled their advantage from the penalty spot.
Al-Ittihad had the chances, but they could not find the back of the net, as they stayed fifth, but are now just six points above Al-Ettifaq.
Data Debrief: Clinical finishers
Al-Ettifaq had five shots on target against Al-Ittihad, scoring with all of them while creating an xG of 3.62.
With his hat-trick against Al-Ittihad, Ekambi has now scored 11 goals for the season, netting more than once for the first time since joining the club.
Al-Akhdoud 2-3 Al-Nassr: Brozovic stunner delays Al-Hilal coronation
Marcelo Brozovic scored twice – including a fine half-volley in second-half stoppage time – as Al-Nassr beat Al-Akhdoud 3-2 to delay Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League title coronation on Thursday.
Former Inter midfielder Brozovic fired in a seventh-minute opener from outside the area before Cristiano Ronaldo tapped into an empty net to double the visitors' lead.
Sadio Mane struck the woodwork early in the second half and Al-Nassr relinquished control of the game from there, with goals from Hassan Al Habib and Saviour Godwin making it 2-2.
However, Brozovic blasted a bouncing ball home following a goalmouth scramble in the first of seven minutes of stoppage time to hand Al-Nassr a fifth straight win and keep them within nine points of Al-Hilal, with three games still to play.
They have only delayed the inevitable though as the leaders – who have only dropped four points all season – need just one more point to secure their crown ahead of facing Al-Hazm on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Brozovic upstages Ronaldo
While it's usually Ronaldo writing the headlines for Al-Nassr, he was upstaged by Brozovic on Thursday as the Croatian found the net with both of his shots, also leading all players on the pitch for final-third passes (19) and completing 90.1 per cent of his passes overall (81/95).
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