A 17-year-old amputee footballer from Bushey has had a summer of success this year.
Rio Woolf has been representing his country since the age of seven, when he was first called up to the England Amputee Football Association (EAFA) Junior Squad for the inaugural Dublin 2016 European Amputee Football Federation Junior Camp.
He attended the subsequent camps in Warsaw in 2017 and 2023, Rome in 2018, and Tbilisi in 2022, as well as the EAFA Junior Camps in Cheshire since the very first one in 2017.
Rio has enjoyed a fantastic season with Chelsea Foundation Amputees, with whom he started training in October 2022. He had his debut for the club in July 2024 playing in the EAFA IKO EAFL Cup.
The team went on to win this year’s EE FA Disability Cup Final, beating Everton 2-0, which was broadcast live on TNT Sports at St George’s Park on Saturday, June 28.
To add to their silverware, Rio and the Chelsea Amputees were victorious in this summer’s IKO EAFL Cup on Saturday, July 26, once again beating Everton to win 3-2.
This confirmed their qualification to play in the 2026 EE FA Disability Cup Final.
It was a huge honour for Rio and the Chelsea Amputee players to be invited pitch side to parade their trophy at Stamford Bridge on Friday, August 8, before the pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen where the home team won 2-0.
Rio said: “It’s been great to see the team go from strength to strength within the last year – everyone has been working so hard to play better as a team.”
Rio’s ambition is to play for England at European and international tournaments, including the next Amputee Football World Cup in 2026. He is also hoping that amputee football will be classified as a Paralympic sport so that he can compete for Great Britain in the future.
Follow Rio’s journey at www.facebook.com/RioWoolf or www.instagram.com/bladeboyrio
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