Description

ID: A white football shirt with collar. It has the England crest of 3 blue lions on the right-hand side of the chest, and a red Umbro logo on the right. There is a large red number 5 at the centre.

This shirt was worn by Craig Lundberg when he played for England in the 2009 Blind Football European Championships.

Craig, from Walton, lost his sight in 2007 whilst serving a tour of duty during the Iraq War (2003-2011) as a Lance Corporal in the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. After being hit by two rocket propelled grenades during a rooftop battle, he was airlifted to hospital. Whilst he recovered from multiple injuries, his eyes were permanently damaged by shrapnel, and surgeons were unable to recover his sight.

In an interview in the Museum of Liverpool’s Liverpool Voices Archive, Craig remembers his journey to becoming a football player:

“I got involved in blind football through a charity called Daisy UK. I helped set up the start of the Everton Blind Football team, and that’s how I got into the blind England squad. I trained with the blind England squad up to 2011. I had really good fun there, I played in the Euros and played in Greece for my country.”

Throughout his involvement with blind football, Craig has both played the game and taught it, coaching children, and helping them get into sports.

He remains incredibly passionate about sport. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats and competing at the Veteran Games are just a few of his many sporting achievements.

Community curation: This shirt and a commendation certificate Craig received for his service are on display in the museum, and form part of the Curating for Change Disability History Trail. I transcribed and edited an oral history interview given by Craig to be used as part of the Disability History Hub, too, so his story could be given in his own words. - Iris Sirendi, Curating for Change Fellow at Museum of Liverpool