A disabled footballer from Wimbledon has embarked on a life time sporting dream.

Tim Christie, 21, featured in the Wimbledon News two weeks ago, recently returned from the Amputee World Cup in Rio De Jeneiro, Brazil.

Part of a 12-man squad, Christie was a key player in helping England to a third placed finish behind winners Brazil and Russia.

According to Christie the Brazilian experience was something he will savour for the rest of his life.

"The tournament was very, very hard," he said. "The 40 degree heat was a factor more than anything.

"The crowd were something else. Football is like a religion to them.

"Even a tournament like ours generated between 5,000 and 6,000 people.

Christie and the rest of the England squad played the tournament at the plush new £1m Estrda Velhade Marica sports complex.

"It was purpose-built," added Christie. "There are some rich parts and poor parts of Brazil.

Improving

"The country is improving. I played in last year's tournament in Seattle last year.

"It wasn't nearly as good as this one.

"We played a series of round robin games and qualified for the semi-finals.

"We lost to 3-0 Brazil in a game where we didn't play that badly.

"The team played some really good football, but we could have played a lot better."

Third place was guaranteed after a 2-1 win against Ukraine. Brazil were the eventual winners. The hosts defeated Russia in the final.

The next tournament will take place in Southern Russia next August.

December 4, 2001 13:34