Alness footballer Joe Mckenzie receives Highland Disability Sport sports personality of the year award
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ALNESS footballer Joe Mckenzie finally got his hands on the Highland Disability Sport sports personality of the year trophy, two years after winning the award.
The 27-year-old left-back, who plays for Highland United, received the award after captaining Great Britain to gold medal glory at the World Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019.
Mckenzie scored in the final in the 3–1 victory over Australia to give them the trophy and played in all the games during the tournament.
The sales assistant, who has learning difficulties, was named HDS sports personality of the year for 2019 for his achievements.
But due to the Covid pandemic, he was unable to be presented with his trophy until last week.
Highland United coach Peter Corbett presented Mckenzie with the trophy at a training session at Inverness Leisure Centre and he said it was a great surprise and honour to receive the silverware.
“It was a surprise to receive the trophy that night and being presented it by Peter,” he said.
“Winning the gold medal for Great Britain was the proudest moment of my career and something that I trained hard for.
“It is difficult to put into words how I felt representing my country as captain at the World Games.
“But being the captain of the Great Britain team made it extra special for me to win the gold medal.”
Mckenzie made his debut for Great Britain at the World Games in 2019, but also represented his country in Israel when they won 6–1 in an invitational match.
Due to the pandemic, there has not been many opportunities to play at international level in the last two years.
But Mckenzie hopes to represent his country again and win more honours in the future
“When the next tournament comes, whatever it is, I just want to be involved in playing in it and try to win it too.”
