Anthony Gerard Larkin (born 12 January 1956) is an English former

professional footballer Association football is the world's most popular sport and is worth US$600 billion worldwide. By the end of the 20th century it was played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries. Around the world, the sport is played at a profes ...

, and manager and coach of the England

blind football Football 5-a-side, more commonly known as blind football or blind soccer, is a variation of association football designed for players who are blind or visually impaired. It is currently a Paralympic sport, and the International Blind Sports A ...

team, which is based at the

Royal National College for the Blind Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Ro ...

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

. Larkin is also the former head of sport and recreation at the college, as well as Patron of the disability sports charity

British Blind Sport British Blind Sport (BBS) is a British charity that makes sport and recreational activities accessible to people who are visually impaired. The charity enables blind and partially sighted people to experience the same sporting opportunities as s ...

Career

During a footballing career spanning fifteen years Larkin made over 320 professional appearances for teams including Everton,

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

and

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

. It was while he was playing for Shrewsbury that he first became involved with the Royal National College after doing some voluntary work there. Impressed with the enthusiasm of the students he returned to RNC to coach sports after finishing his playing career at Hereford United. He then qualified as a mobility instructor and blind football coach, and now runs training sessions for other coaches from around the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. Under Larkin's stewardship the England squad qualified as Great Britain's entry for the

2008 Paralympic Games The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

after finishing runners-up to Spain in the European Championships in 2006. He has also led them to seven European Championship and to four World Championships. The team are currently ranked second in Europe and fifth in the World. Larkin was instrumental in helping to establish the United Kingdom's first football academy for

visually impaired Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

players. The Football Academy, which is based at the Royal National College, was officially opened in August 2008 by former England footballer Sir Trevor Brooking and offers visually impaired students the opportunity to include football as part of their study programme with a view to playing the game at a national level. The college hosted the 2010 World Blind Football Championships. He coached Britain's Blind Football team for the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

. Larkin became Patron of British Blind Sport in March 2013. Upon his retirement in January 2016 he was Director of Business and Enterprise at RNC. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2016 Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for services to Further Education and Disability Sport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Tony 1956 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers People associated with the Royal National College for the Blind English football managers English Football League players Everton F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Officers of the Order of the British Empire Men's association football defenders