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Camden Sports - by STEVE BARNETT
Published: 7 May 2009

Graham Leclerc

Graham’s Oz trip is a dream come true

STRIKER Graham Leclerc will fulfil a childhood dream this week when he represents England at the Arafura Games.
The father-of-three will travel to Darwin in Australia ahead of Tuesday’s big kick-off in the seven-a-side Cerebral Palsy Football Championships.
Held every two years, the multi-sport Games take their name from the Arafura Sea, which lies between northern Australia and south east Asia.
Graham, a duty manager at the Talacre Community Sports Centre in Kentish Town, suffers from hemiplegia, and is partially paralysed on the right side of his body. With such a restricting condition, Graham revealed he never imagined being given the chance to represent his country. But just days after his 34th birthday, he will spearhead the England attack in a series of five matches against the likes of hosts Australia, Japan and Korea.
Graham, who lives in Hilldrop Road, Islington, couldn’t hide his excitement after being given special leave from work to compete in the championships: “To be given the opportunity to put on an England shirt and represent my country is a dream come true.
“The support that all my colleagues, friends and family have given me has been brilliant, hopefully I can repay them by returning home with a medal.”
Anyone interested in supporting Graham with future funding can email him at graham.leclerc9@hotmail.co.uk

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