Women's football; Blind opera singer

Published: Aug. 30, 2022, 8 p.m.

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The success of England\'s footballing Lionesses at the recent UEFA women\'s championship has massively increased the popularity of the women\'s game. Now, the Football Association has included blind women in their disability talent strategy. The 2023 IBSA world games provide an early opportunity for a team of blind women players to follow in the footsteps of their sighted counterparts by lifting a major trophy. We speak to three England hopefuls about their journey in the blind beautiful game.

There is a perception among many people that having a visual impairment automatically means a love of music, but, as with so many other activities, sight loss can mean barriers to becoming a musician. Undeterred by this, and already having learned to play violin and viola, sixteen year old Toben Durrant is now a member of the Welsh National Youth Opera. We talk to him about his experience as a young blind musician. We also speak to acclaimed Soprano, Victoria Oruwari about support for young blind people wanting to become musicians.

Presenter: Peter White

Producer: Fern Lulham

Production coordinator: William Wolstenholme

Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image. He is wearing a dark green jumper with the collar of a check shirt peeking at the top. Above Peter\'s head is the BBC logo, Across Peter\'s chest reads "In Touch" and beneath that is the Radio 4 logo. The background is a series of squares that are different shades of blue.

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