RNC Hereford Crowned European Blind Football League Champions
The team secured their third consecutive title in Florence, overcoming strong international competition.
By Ryan Mellor
••3 min read
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A football on grass with a blurred goal net in the background.
RNC Hereford has once again triumphed in the European Blind Football League (EBFL), securing their third consecutive championship title after a hard-fought final round in Florence on 3 October.
Originally established to offer additional international playing opportunities for blind footballers, the EBFL has become a significant fixture in RNC Hereford’s competitive calendar. The Football Association (FA) initially entered the team to enable England and RNC Head Coach Adam Bendall to scout emerging talent from the RNC Sports Academy, fostering younger players alongside seasoned England internationals.
Despite a delayed 2025/26 season due to a summer international break, the fifth and final round concluded with RNC maintaining their dominance. Heading into the final weekend in Florence, RNC held a slim three-point lead over second-placed hosts Quarto Tempo Firenze.
RNC began the weekend strongly, defeating Borussia Dortmund 7–0. Rising star Mikey Poulli scored a hat-trick, supported by braces from Eesa Amjid and individual goals from Toby Williams and Ollie Johnson.
In their subsequent match against Blind Football Poland (BFP), RNC faced an early setback when BFP took the lead. However, the team demonstrated resilience, fighting back to secure a 2-1 victory with goals from Poulli and Amjid. These consecutive wins mathematically sealed the championship, ensuring the trophy returned to Hereford.
Several RNC players featured prominently in the tournament's top 10 goalscorers for the season: Eesa Amjid finished second with 8 goals, Mikey Poulli was sixth with 4 goals, and both Efe Shimwell and Ollie Johnson tied for eighth place with 3 goals each.
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"It got a bit too close for comfort in the Poland game, but it just shows the commitment the players have to the project, to the team, and to winning the League again. It’s a great tournament to give the guys more experience. It wasn’t the plan to win it this year – I just wanted to give our young players, like Mikey, Harrison, and Toby, more experience of playing European football. So, we’ve accidentally won it in terms of planning for them to get more playing minutes and getting other goalkeepers exposed to the competition. It comes as a little bit of a surprise, but a good surprise. It shows how everyone works really hard, and we should give ourselves credit that England are managing to produce players quite quickly and at a good level, where they can compete alongside and against experienced international players."
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"It was great to finish the season with a trophy after all the hard work and the ups and downs of the season."
The champions will soon begin their title defence in the 2026/2027 season, which is scheduled to kick off in Greece this coming December.
