Martin Sinclair (footballer)

Martin Sinclair (born on 27 June 1986) is an English footballer who currently plays for the Great Britain Paralympic 7-a-side team for players with cerebral palsy.[1]

Personal life

Sinclair was born on 27 June 1986 in Bath, England.[1] he is the brother of Aston Villa footballer Scott Sinclair, who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and Jake Sinclair, a member of the Southampton F.C. Academy.[2]

Sinclair was born with cerebral palsy but still had ambitions of playing football.[2] As a teenager he fell off a slide, resulting in the ball and socket coming out of his hip; the injury was initially diagnosed as a damaged ligament, but when he went to hospital for an operation on his hand an x-ray revealed the real injury. He was confined to a wheelchair for three years and had a hip replacement at the age of 21.[2]

Football

Whilst his brother Scott was playing for Plymouth Argyle, Martin was introduced to manager Ian Holloway who offered him a role coaching in the football in the community programme. It was during this that Martin found out about Plymouth's disabled side.[2][3] He competes in 7-a-side matches for players with cerebral palsy.[2] He was part of the Great Britain teams that won a bronze medal at the 2010 Paralympic World Cup and a silver medal at the 2012 event.[1]

In 2012 Martin was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics as part of a twelve-player squad for the 7-a-side football event.[4][5] Great Britain faced Brazil, the United States and Ukraine in the preliminary stage of the competition, with all matches being held at the Riverbank Arena.[6] Martin and Scott became the first brothers to represent Great Britain at a Paralympic and Olympic Games in the same year, as Scott appeared for the Great Britain Olympic football team who reached the quarterfinals at the 2012 Summer Olympics .[2][7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Martin Sinclair". British Paralympic Association. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hardy, Martin (19 July 2012). "Scott & Martin Sinclair: Brothers in arms – a tale of courage". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Davies, Gareth A. (25 May 2010). "Chelsea's Scott Sinclair supporting brother Martin's London 2012 Paralympic ambition". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "ParalympicsGB: Who will compete for Great Britain in London?". BBC Sport. 12 August 2012. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Great Britain Announces Paralympic Football Teams". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "Football 7-a-side - Schedule & Results". The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Taylor, Louise (18 July 2012). "London 2012: Scott and Martin Sinclair are Team GB's special pair". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
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