The Talented Athlete Scheme is aimed at supporting athletes, players and/or participants to continue to develop and thrive on their sporting journey. Each athlete is representing England or Great Britain at their chosen sport, or competing/trialling at national level.
The Community Network is proud to have 13 athletes who have become part of our Talented Athlete Scheme. Your Trust offers each athlete their own personalised training plan to help support the development of their sporting journey. This includes 9 different sports; underwater hockey, blind football, swimming, karate, moto cross, cricket, golf, water polo and squash.
If you are interested in becoming a Talented Athlete, please click the button to complete the application form.
Talented Athlete Application FormRochdale’s Talented Athletes
Azeem Amir
Azeem Amir is a 25-year-old trailblazer from Rochdale who was born with a visual impairment, leaving him with no vision in his right eye and light perception in his left. Refusing to let this define or limit him, Azeem has turned his challenges into opportunities to inspire and empower others.
As a professional Blind Footballer, Azeem proudly represents England on the international stage, continually working towards achieving success at the highest level, including the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games. Alongside his athletic pursuits, Azeem is an accomplished public speaker, having delivered impactful talks at events such as TEDx, where he shares his story of resilience, determination, and the importance of inclusion.
Azeem has recently completed a Master’s degree and has launched a pioneering nationwide initiative, Learn With ESS (Education, Sport, and Speaking). This organisation delivers disability awareness workshops to schools, sports clubs, and businesses, offering a unique blend of education, hands-on sports experiences, and motivational speaking. These workshops not only foster empathy and inclusion but also leave participants with lasting skills and insights.
Azeem and his team’s work has already impacted over 24,000 people across diverse sectors, from education and corporate teams to hospitality and the criminal justice system. As an ambassador for several disability awareness organisations, he is deeply passionate about promoting inclusivity and inspiring others to achieve their version of success, proving that barriers can be broken with the right mindset and support.
Cyrus Moores
Cyrus is 17 years old and is a student at Hopwood Hall College.
Cyrus started playing football at grass roots aged 4 but was soon spotted by scouts from professional teams like Manchester City, Manchester United and Everton.
Cyrus moved through the ranks developing into a great young talent spending four nights a week at Everton elite and really enjoying playing and training, then aged 13 he went to watch his older brother racing dirt bikes who himself is a very talented rider but has had to stop through a bad knee injury. It was there Cyrus got the bug for racing asking could he have a go.
He then had to make the choice bikes or football…..bikes it was! With Cyrus having the drive he possesses, he soon became a young teenage motorcross sensation winning schoolboy races every week and progressing into racing with the 40 fastest kids under 18’s in the country at UK MASTER KIDS – the biggest and most prodigious event on the racing calendar coming 4th in his first attempt proving he can run with the country elite of riders.
Cyrus has moved into racing in the adult class where he is enjoying the challenges this racing brings; more demanding, more physical, faster racing and travelling around the UK and Europe.
Cyrus was nominated for Young Sport Achiever of the Year Awards at the 2024 Rochdale Borough Active. Coming runner-up in the category, Cyrus said “this was a super proud moment for Cyrus and his family as the demanding sport does weigh heavily on his shoulders. Coming runner up was such an achievement for myself and for a sport that doesn’t get its awareness. Thanks again to the people who voted for me and to my family and sponsors for the opportunity to do such a sport”.
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Emily Smith
Emily has been playing Underwater Hockey since she turned 8 and is now 14.
She is now training with as a trialist with the Great British team for the next international tournament in 2026. She has always enjoyed swimming, and trains with Rochdale Underwater club if anyone is interested in joining.
Rochdale Underwater Club has previously seen members represent GB in international competitions.
Gabby Giblin
Gabby’s journey in swimming began at 4 years of age at Middleton Arena, where she learned to swim. After 5 years of lessons she had completed the course and it was suggested by a Swimming Teacher at Middleton Arena (the lovely Trevor) to attend an upcoming Swim England event in Rochdale. This was a 3 week course and following completion, Gabby was advised to join a local swimming club to begin her journey into competitive swimming.
Gabby’s first swimming club was Aquabears of Rochdale where she spent a pandemic interrupted 18 months, followed by an advanced training scheme at Oldham Aquatics. After 20 months at Oldham Aquatics, she felt ready for the next step on her swimming journey and joined the multi Olympic medal winning club of Stockport Metro, where she increased her training time to 6 days per week including two 4am get up’s!
Gabby has had an incredible time since joining Stockport Metro with achievements beyond her wildest dreams, culminating in qualifying for the British Championships which only 1% of all competitive swimmers ever achieve.
Her recent achievements include:
- Cheshire County Championships – 1 x Silver, 3 x Bronze
- Northwest Regional County Championships – 1 x Bronze
- English Championships – 1 x Silver
- British Championships – 17th place
- 200m Breaststroke – 1 x Gold
- 100m Breaststroke – 1 x Bronze
- 50m Breaststroke – 1 x Bronze
- 400 Individual Medley – 1 x Silver
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Joe Bannan
Mike Patterson
Michael started playing Water Polo around age 14 after swimming all of his life at County/Regional level.
Michael started in Local League Water Polo at Royton ASWPC, where he won the league at U14/U16 and achieved many personal awards. He moved to City of Manchester Water Polo Club, where he still plays as part of the 6 x BWPL champions senior men’s team.
The team have won the Double 5 times in the last 6 years and are hoping to do it again this year.
Michael also played for City of Manchester at junior age groups and also won some titles. Whilst playing for Manchester, he represented the North West region and through this allowed him to play for England and Great Britain.
Since making his Great Britain debut at age 15, he has achieved 100+ international caps with Great Britain in Junior and Senior age groups. He was part of the first team to play at a European Championships in over a decade in 2019 where he played in Minsk, Belarus.
During his time at University as a Sports Scholar, he was selected to represent Great Britain at the World University Games.
He has recently also helped with coaching and has volunteered previously as a swimming teacher and water polo coach at CoM WPC, and been an assistant GB Coach for the Women’s U19 squad. The team recently competed in Zagreb at the European Championships, where they achieved a 9th place finish, the best GB U19s Women’s result in the last decade.
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Will Purser
Will Purser’s cricket journey began at Heywood Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League. He represented Lancashire at both age group and 2nd XI levels, showing early promise in the sport. He went on to play for Firwood Bootle in the Liverpool & District Cricket Competition for 10 years and also played for Longton in the North Staffordshire South Cheshire League and also played for Baxenden as the club professional. Alongside club cricket, Will represented Staffordshire and later Cumberland at Minor Counties level as well as the Minor Counties Combined team.
One of the highlights of his career was winning the Cricket AM “Shot at the Pro’s” competition, which gave him the chance to represent Kent in a tour warm-up game against South Africa. Unfortunately, a double hernia injury prevented him from playing in that match.
More recently, Will has been selected to represent England at over-40s level and has returned to where it all began – Heywood Cricket Club – completing a remarkable and varied cricketing journey which still has some life left in it yet!