TWO members of the Team GB blind football team will be putting their rivalries aside when they start their opening game against Spain next week.

Lee Brunton and Dan English, both students at the Royal National College in Hereford, met at a youth club for visually impaired children in Newcastle ten years ago.

Despite the pair supporting Newcastle United and Sunderland, they have agreed to put their differences aside in a bid for Paralympic gold.

Lee, from North Shields , said, “We are the only two North-East lads in the GB team and we support rival clubs. We try not to talk about football too much.

“We get on with each other well and I have stayed at his house in the past. Dan and I have been the only students at the college for the past six weeks.”

Lee is hoping to score his first international goal at the Paralympics. He also represented England at last year’s European Blind Football Championships.

He also revealed he had a slight injury scare in the lead up to the competition. Lee said, “I hurt my ankle playing around three months ago and I have been fighting to get fit.

“It’s better now. It wasn’t very nice thinking that you might miss out on the biggest event of your life.”

Spain have been training at the college in Hereford where the pair study and Lee knows that Team GB will face tough competition. Lee said, “The opening game is going to be massive for us.

“We have had a few of our coaches watching the Spain team train and we have got a good chance against them.”