PhD student competing in London 2012 Paralympics

Robin has already played two preliminary matches and the team's hopes are high to make it into the semi-finals. The matches are being shown on Channel 4 TV and live online.

One of two forms of football on the Paralympic programme, 5-a-side football is played by visually impaired athletes using a ball with a noise-making device inside. The game follows a similar set of rules to futsal, a variant of football played on the continent. The four outfield players must be classified B1 (which means either no, or minimal vision). However the goalkeeper may be fully sighted.

Robin has been a keen sportsman from an early age, swimming at international level until he was 15. In 2008 he started playing football competitively, and was selected for the world cup in 2010. Robin receives top quality support through the University’s High Performance Programme and by virtue of his FA backed Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) award. As such, he trains several times a week at the university with two other members of the squad who are also based in Exeter. The TASS award ensures Robin receives strength & conditioning, physiotherapy and sports medicine services whenever required.

Alongside his football commitments, Robin is also currently studying for a PhD in Statistics, investigating probabilistic weather forecasts with a focus on extreme events. Balancing his academic and sporting commitments proves challenging at times, but he is grateful for the support of supervisor Dr Chris Ferro and the opportunity to use campus sports facilities for training.

You can follow the results and fixtures for the Men's Football 5-a-side on the London Paralympics official website, Robin is also a regular user of Twitter, follow him @MrRMWilliams.

Good luck Robin!