England women's blind football captain Sam Gough is preparing for the 2026 IBSA Women's Blind Football European Championship, which begins in Istanbul on Saturday. The 23-year-old Scot, one of the world's best strikers, spoke to Moving the Goalposts about her career and the liberating impact of her guide dog, Helga.
A life-changing partnership
Gough, who is based in Edinburgh, has cerebral vision impairment, caused by damage to the connecting pathways between her eyes and her brain at birth. Her sight gradually declined through childhood, and she now competes in the B1 blind classification. Helga, a three-year-old black labrador, has been her guide dog since last year.
“It was as if I was a bird trapped in a cage and finally was able to fly and spread my wings,” Gough said. “As I train full-time in two sports, my training load is a lot and I used to have to rely on my parents to drive me up and down the country. Helga's changed that because I can get to camps by myself.”
Gough described the moment she learned about Helga: “I remember finding out about her, sitting in the nail salon getting my nails done and I got a phone call. I just remember crying, I was so emotional. You wait for so long for this life-changing moment.”
From exclusion to international captain
Gough's journey in sport began with exclusion. “I really wanted to be involved but, as I lost more and more of my vision, I was told I wasn't going to be able to participate in sport. I was actually removed from PE due to being a 'hazard'. I thought that that dream would never really come to fruition, until I went to the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. There, I tried blind football for the first time and realised the football door would open for me.”
She added: “As I've grown up I've been able to realise that actually things weren't acceptable and that was an exclusion in sport, where younger Sam was told that she couldn't take part. It's why I'm such a big advocate now for sport to be inclusive and young people to have the opportunity. Young Sam went through a lot of bullying as well, so it kind of toughened me up a little bit but also was one of the worst experiences of my life.”
Blind football and the Para Lionesses
Blind football is a five-a-side game where all four outfield players wear eye masks and spectators must remain silent during play. Players must shout “voy” before tackling, and metal plates inside the ball create a rattling sound to help players locate it. Gough noted the physical demands: “When you're striking a ball, your big toe can get quite sore. My toenail is no longer existent because you're hitting off a metal plate all the time!” She added: “Balance is very, very, very important. You're playing a game just through hearing and battling so your stability has to be really, really strong to your core.”
England's team, known as the Para Lionesses, will be joined in Turkey by Austria, Poland, the host nation, and a neutral para team. In the inaugural women's championship in Pescara, Italy, four years ago, England were runners-up to Germany. Gough's team also finished second at the 2025 World Championship in India, losing to Argentina in the final after victories over Japan, Poland, and India. The next World Championship is in October 2027 in São Paulo, Brazil.
Gough said travelling to Turkey for the Euros is “nerve-racking” but added: “Our performance at the World Champs in India just really gave us the confidence we needed. There are a couple of teams that are strong and we're just going to go into each game really having confidence in our ability as a squad and supporting each other for it.”
Advocacy and recognition
In June this year, Gough received an MBE in the king's birthday honours list for her services to sport and the visually impaired community. She has taught blind football to schoolchildren and to Brazilian football icons Kaká and Cafu, as well as giving demonstrations to some of Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses.
This year, Postcode Lottery players are helping Guide Dogs to fund partnerships like Sam and Helga. For more information, visit guidedogs.org.uk.
