Peterborough United fan in the running for major sports award
A Peterborough United season ticket holder has been shortlisted for a prestigious sports award previously won by Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley.
Dan McLellan (15) is a star powerchair footballer who was part of the England squad that narrowly missed out on a World Cup gold to France last year.
He’s the youngest player to represent his country in an emerging sport at a major tournament and his meteoric rise has caught the attention of those behind SportsAid’s prestigious ‘One-to-Watch’ award.
McLellan, who lives in Brampton, is on a shortlist of 10 for the 2024 award which recognises Britain’s brightest young sporting prospects. Previous winners include Daley (diving) and his fellow Olympic champion Alex Yee (triathlon).
The top 10 have been selected from around 1,000 rising stars, supported by SportsAid, across more than 60 different sports.
It’s another big moment for McLellan, but he is now determined to keep pushing onto even bigger heights.
“I want to be the England captain and win the World Cup,” McLellan said. “That would be my main ambition because it's never been done before. Hopefully, we can do it before I am old enough to even be in contention for the captaincy, but if we could do it and I was captain, that would make my life.
“I don't really see any need to do anything differently to achieve that goal, just keep doing what I’m doing.
“I'm just going to keep working hard, keep putting in 110 percent, keep watching video footage, talking to the best players in the world, trying to see what they would do in certain situations."
As the youngest player in the England set-up, his transition into the senior side has not been without personal challenges for McLellan.
However, he has vastly grown in confidence, fully aware that his presence in the side is justified by ability.
“Obviously I've always been one of the younger ones,” McLellan added. “But over the years it's become less of a problem. At first, when you're really young, you feel really shy and feel like if I say anything in a team talk, no one's going to respect me, stuff like that.
“Now I'm quite comfortable around the older players and I've sort of figured out that if you just do your talking on the pitch, then people will naturally respect you more, irrespective of age.”
McLellan’s love for football does not stop at his own exploits – he’s also a European Champions Cup winner his club St Albans-based Aspire FC – as he is also a regular at London Road to watch his beloved Posh.
He added: “I just live and breathe football. If there's any form of football I can watch, I'll stick it on and watch random games.
“I have a season ticket at my local EFL club, Peterborough. People might call that a bad choice, but I love to support them as much as I can when I'm not busy with my own football.
“Everything to do with me revolves around football. If you don't enjoy what you're doing and you're not passionate about the sport you're playing, I don't really see the point in taking part. You should probably find something else to do.
“How much I love my sport is my main driving factor. The moment I lose that I would stop playing.”
McLellan has been provided with crucial financial support by SportsAid.
The typical value of a SportsAid award is £1,000 with money generated through a combination of commercial partnerships, trust and charitable funds, and fundraising activities.
“SportsAid is amazing," McLellan enthused. “You never want to have to worry about the money you need to get to games and to training, to play or to buy the equipment.
“The equipment for powerchair football is really expensive. You're looking at probably £12,000-£13,000 for the chair.”
The other nine candidates for the award are: Sam Reardon (Athletics), Skye Fisher-Eames (Diving), Summer Shaw (Judo), Lily Laughton (Equestrian), Irene Oboavwoduo (Basketball), Jack Long (Wheelchair Basketball), Ruby White (Boxing), Erin Boothman (Cycling), Iggy Rinaldi (Sport Climbing).
SportsAid’s annual ‘One-to-Watch’ award is being supported by Aldi – the charity’s official supermarket partner. The 2024 winner will be revealed soon with each of the top 10 receiving cash boosts and in-person visits at their training environments to celebrate their achievements.