Bromsgrove boy praises footballer Michael Owen and son for sight loss awareness

A football fan has praised Michael Owen and his son for raising awareness about a degenerative eye disease.

Eleven-year-old Zayd, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, has Stargardt disease, the same condition as the former England striker's son James.

James Owen, 17, and his dad spoke about James' sight loss on a BBC Access All podcast, ahead of a new documentary.

Zayd said he was inspired by James' story and would also not be held back by sight loss.

"Sometimes it makes me feel sad but I have learned to live with it and to be strong," he told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

Zayd enjoys sport including swimming and basketball but especially football and plays as a right winger.

"I love football, it's my favourite sport," he said and added the condition had not stopped him getting better at it.

His mother Amna said she ran to tell Zayd after hearing the Owens' interview and said her son "told me all of Michael Owen's history and knew all about him".

James and Michael told BBC Access All about their documentary "Football is For Everyone", a film about James' story and an adapted version of football called futsal.

The teenager, who had hoped to follow in his footballing father's footsteps, was diagnosed with Stargardt disease aged eight.

RNIB said the inherited eye condition affected the macula, the central part of the retina.

Michael Owen told the podcast he would "swap eyes" with his son if he could but added, instead of thinking of the "what ifs", they have become positive about the future.

Zayd said his own dream was to become a diplomat, possibly advising a country's leader and his family, friends and school were "very supportive".

Amna said her son required "quite a lot of magnification" to help with his learning and reading.

The family first felt some concern more than four years ago, when they watched Zayd read.

"We found that he would bring his books very close to his face when he was reading and he would sit quite close to the television," Amna said.

They mentioned this at a routine eye test which led to Zayd's diagnosis at London's Moorfields Hospital, aged seven.

"I think we as a family have really grown with Stargardt. It's quite a journey to accept it, to move on with it and to live with it and do everyday things," Amna said.

"He is quite keen to do well, he has made the best of it."

Amna said they were also helped by Stargardt's Connected, a community which shared their stories and information, such as on research.

"We have university students, people in the workplace, we have artists, [all] incredible human beings," she said and added Zayd met many children with the disease at a recent event.

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