Harrison’s Premier League stadium challenge for deaf children

Deaf Hornchurch youngster Harrison Nolan, 11, succeeded in visiting all 20 Premier League stadiums in under 36 hours today (Tuesday 25th July) in support of the National Deaf Children’s Society, accompanied by his dad Andrew.

Following a route that Harrison devised, the intrepid duo started at St James’s Park in Newcastle at six in the morning on Monday 24 July, then toured around the North of England and the Midlands before finally heading down to London to finish their challenge at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in the afternoon of Tuesday 25 July.

At each stadium, they jumped out of the car for a photo and to film a short video of Harrison saying the name of the stadium and the team that plays there in British Sign Language (BSL).

Harrison is a keen footballer himself and hopes to play for the England Deaf Football team one day. He chose the National Deaf Children’s Society because of the support they gave to his family during his early years.

The father and son team has already raised over £1,500 towards their target of £2,000 for the charity, which supports the UK’s 50,000 deaf children.

Harrison lives in Hornchurch, Essex with has mum and dad, Elizabeth and Andrew, and his twin sisters, Georgia and Charlotte, aged nine.

Harrison said:

“I feel pretty happy to have seen all of the Premier League grounds.

“It was brilliant and I saw some amazing stadiums and sights it is also great knowing it is all for a good cause.

“My dad and I both support Tottenham Hotspur but Old Trafford and the Etihad were my favourite grounds. I’d like to go back to both, but I don’t think my dad is keen to drive anywhere for a while now!

“I’ve got football training tonight so dad is going to treat us to a takeaway to celebrate us completing our challenge.”

Andrew said:

“It was tougher than I thought it would be, just sitting in a car for all that time. Your back and legs start to seize up. We got through quite a few energy drinks, coffees, sweets and chocolate.

“The highlight of the challenge for me was Old Trafford, as it’s such as iconic stadium. The only Premier League ground we’ve previously been to is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Melissa Jones, of the National Deaf Children’s Society’s fundraising team, added:

“I want to offer a massive congratulations to Harrison and Andrew on completing their Premier League stadium challenge. It was a great idea and well done for taking it on for us.

“The National Deaf Children’s Society is dedicated to supporting the UK’s 50,000 deaf children and their families. The efforts of selfless fundraisers like Harrison and Andrew will help us to keep on doing our vital work, now and into the future.”