Maisie O’Shea reflects on Deaf Sports Personality of the Year recognition

An ‘unexpected’ but ‘proud moment’ is how England women’s deaf international Maisie O’Shea assesses being named the 2024 Deaf Sports Personality of the Year.

Earlier this month, O’Shea was accompanied by her family to the ceremony in Glasgow where it was revealed she had won the top prize, and the news came as something of a shock.

“I was debating whether I went to the ceremony in Scotland because it’s quite far to travel,” she said.

“They announced it in reverse order from third to first and I said to my mum and brother, ‘put the cameras away – you’re not going to need them’. My mum said, ‘I’m keeping it on because you never know’.” 

Honoured to have been voted as Deaf Sports Personality of the Year 2024🏆

Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey! pic.twitter.com/yFA65B9H9N

— Maisie O’Shea (@MaisieOShea04) December 4, 2024

The year got underway with a warm weather training camp in Tenerife, which O’Shea – who also won the 2024 Deaf Champions League with a Spanish side CDPS Guadalajaraand – and England team-mate Faye Williams attended, alongside some of England’s other Para teams.

“We didn’t really know what to expect but we both came out of it at the end saying it was probably one of the best weeks we’ve ever had,” she recalled.

“We were training with the lads from the partially sighted team as well. As much as it was hard work and physically demanding, it was nice to have everyone together – not just us and the partially sighted team but the other squads as well like the blind women who were the only other women’s team there.”

And earlier in April, O’Shea and her team-mates received an invite to Wembley as England women’s senior team hosted Sweden – an experience which stands out as a highlight across the calendar year.

“We were all buzzing in the group chat saying, ‘wow – what an experience’,” she explained. “The Royal Box itself is special enough but then to go on to the pitch was next level. 

“It’s not often you get those opportunities. It was a big moment, speaking in front of so many people that were there watching.”

As the curtain comes down on a ‘transitional’ 2024 for O’Shea and for England, the Lionesses star already has her sights set on a ‘big year’ ahead in 2025.

Perhaps the most exciting event in the calendar is the next edition of the men and women’s World Deaf Football Championships, which gets underway in June and is set to be staged in Italy.

And O’Shea – who was recognised as the tournament’s Best Young Player last time out in 2023 – is hoping England can go for gold this time around after the Lionesses placed in Brazil just over 12 months ago.

“It’s being hosted in the same place where we won the EUROs in 2022,” she explained. “The squad itself is in such a different place and it’s such a positive place now. It’s all starting to come together really nicely.

“We can now look back at previous tournaments and where we were in comparison to the other nations such as Brazil and Japan, and we’re in a position now where we believe that we can really compete against those teams."