Ayaan grew up in one of the most deprived areas of Barking & Dagenham.

Ayaan is 8 years old and has impaired hearing. Before we met Ayaan he suffered from extreme anxiety, a fear of new situations and had developed a stutter which made him feel cut off from the world.

Taking part in a SportInspired programme was a game changer for Ayaan. The programme gave him the chance to participate in and grow to love sports he never thought he would try. Football was the sport that really struck Ayaan. He had never had the confidence to participate before but SportInspired gave him the chance and now there's no turning back!

Ayaan now regularly paticipates in clubs set up by SportInspired and his teachers say his confidence, speech and language skills have dramatically improved as a result.

Play. Believe. Achieve

We asked him what the best part of playing football is for him, he said ‘I like learning new skills and I like making new friends at the club.’