This blog has been written by Maisie O'Shea
Deaf Awareness Week runs from 4th May to 10th May. It’s a time to recognise the experiences of deaf people and those with hearing loss. It also lets me reflect on my journey and how sport has shaped it.
Sport has been a big part of my life. It opened doors, like working for Hertfordshire Football Association and representing the England Deaf futsal team. Most recently, we won back-to-back European Deaf Futsal Championships in 2022 and 2026, which I’m very proud of.
As the first person in my family with hearing loss, my upbringing was unique. I have younger siblings who are deaf, but I was the first to understand what this meant for us. I wore hearing aids from a young age and got bilateral cochlear implants at five and eight. Oral communication has always been my preference, allowing me to attend mainstream school.
I had support from a teaching assistant and a teacher of the deaf, but I didn’t fully use that help. I wanted to fit in with my hearing peers and struggled to accept my deafness.
After a brief time in ballet, I found football and never looked back. I played on mainstream teams from age four to 18. At 15, I discovered futsal and quickly fell in love with it.
Growing up, the only deaf people I knew were my siblings, so I felt little connection to the Deaf community. This changed when I joined The FA’s para football pathway at 12. By 14, I was training with the senior deaf women’s team. I first played Deaf futsal at 15, representing Doncaster at the English Deaf Futsal Cup.
In Deaf competitions, hearing devices are not allowed. For the first time, I was in a setting where British Sign Language (BSL) was the main form of communication. This was tough at first. I had never needed sign language before, but now I was in a competitive space without my usual way of communicating.
This was a turning point for me. Over time, I learned the value of different communication methods and became proud to be part of the Deaf community.
Since then, I have won two European Championships (2022, 2026), three Deaf Champions League titles (2023, 2024, 2025), and individual awards like Most Valuable Player at the 2022 Euros and Deaf Sports Personality of the Year in 2024. I also became part of the England Women’s futsal team, which might not have happened without my start in Deaf futsal.
For me, Deaf Awareness Week is about helping others understand the barriers deaf people face - not just in daily life, but in sport as well. It’s about making things more inclusive through better communication and small changes that can have a big impact.
It also shows the need for role models. Growing up, I didn’t have any deaf role models and didn’t know you could play international deaf sport. The attention from our recent Euros win is a positive step, and I hope it inspires more young deaf players to see what’s possible. There’s still more to do, and I want to keep raising awareness.
