Helga, a three‑year‑old black Labrador guide dog, eyes a pigeon outside Poltonhall’s changing rooms—will she chase it? She resists, staying focused on her mission with England captain Sam Gough.
Gough is gearing up for the 2026 IBSA Women’s Blind Football European Championship in Istanbul, brimming with confidence since Helga joined her last year, a partnership she describes as liberating.
“It felt like a caged bird finally spreading its wings,” the 23‑year‑old says, recalling her recent second‑place finish in the Home International Rowing Beach Sprints for Scotland. Training for two sports used to mean relying on her parents; now Helga gets her to camps solo.
“Helga arrived just when I needed her most,” Gough recalls, tears streaming during a nail‑salon phone call. That life‑changing moment reshaped everything.
“I set tiny goals as a kid—like getting milk alone by 18. When Helga arrived, the first trip to the shop felt monumental,” she reflects, marveling at the simple freedom a guide dog provides.
Gough lives in Edinburgh and lives with cerebral vision impairment, a condition that left her in the B1 blind class. Though Scottish, she plays for England because her home nation lacks a women’s blind team, a loophole that also benefits Wales.
England’s captain since 2022, Gough is among the world’s top strikers. Blind football is five‑a‑side, masks hide sight, and a rattling ball guides players. “When you strike, your big toe aches—my toenail’s gone from constant metal‑plate hits!” she laughs. Balance, she adds, is everything.
The Para Lionesses will meet Austria, Poland, the host Turkey and a neutral side in Istanbul. England were runners‑up in the inaugural edition in Pescara and again at the 2025 World Champs in India, losing to Argentina. This Euro bid precedes the 2027 World Championship in São Paulo.
Traveling to Turkey feels “nerve‑racking,” Gough admits, yet the Indian Worlds boost their belief. “We’ll enter each match confident, supporting one another.”
As a child she loved football, but vision loss saw her labeled a “hazard” and removed from PE. A stint at the Royal National College for the Blind introduced her to blind football, opening the door she thought closed.
“I realized the exclusion I faced was unacceptable,” she says, now a vocal advocate for inclusive sport. Bullying hardened her, yet it remains one of her toughest memories.
In June she received an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to sport and the visually impaired, having taught blind football to schoolchildren, Brazilian legends Kaká and Cafú, and even demonstrated for Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses.
In Turkey, it is her turn to shine.
This year Postcode Lottery players are helping Guide Dogs to fund life‑changing partnerships like Sam and Helga. To find out more about Guide Dogs, you can visit guidedogs.org.uk
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