Two of the most promising young athletes from the West Midlands are set to receive a fundraising boost thanks to an exciting new partnership between legal and professional services group, Gateley and SportsAid.
Sprinter, Cassie-Ann Pemberton (19) from Birmingham, and squash player, Hassan Khalil (17) from Solihull, will each receive funding towards travel, accommodation and equipment, as well as access to online workshop support and personal development opportunities.
Pemberton put on the GB vest for the first time at the European Athletics Under-18s Championships in Hungary back in 2018, where she finished just short of a podium place in the 100m. A year later at the European Athletics Under-20s Championships in Sweden, she claimed gold medal glory as part of GB’s 4x100m relay team – and insists success on the international stage has fuelled a belief she can now go on to make her mark in the senior ranks.
Khalil, who had been eyeing up a first World Junior Championships on the Gold Coast before the pandemic hit, was training hard through the summer months with the aim of appearing in a PSA World Tour event in the USA in December, only for that too to fall by the wayside. The squash prodigy won the French Junior Open aged 14 and became the British Under-17s champion last year, while he is also a two-time US Junior Open semi-finalist.
Having travelled across Europe for competitions, both are aware of the financial and logistical costs involved with following in the footsteps of the likes of reigning world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith and Egyptian squash legend Ramy Ashour.
Pemberton said: “SportsAid funding has been a huge help because it’s taken some of the pressure off me and my family. My mum and dad have always been the ones to take me to training and to competitions, and without them - and my amazing coach Sharon Morris - I wouldn’t be where I am today.
“The money has paid for travel to meets and warm-weather camps, and now I’m moving up to senior level I’ll be training more often and there’ll be more costs associated with accommodation and equipment.”
Khalil added: “The funding will go towards competing in satellite events around England, paying for accommodation and travel costs. It will also go towards physio, nutrition and strength and conditioning, which is really helpful for developing me as an athlete.”
Vikki Whittemore, group marketing director for Gateley, said: “We enjoy working with forward thinkers and new talent, in business and in sport. It gives us great pleasure to give Cassie-Ann and Hassan this well-deserved boost as they build their careers as elite athletes.
“At Gateley, not only do we advise clients across an extensive range of sports, we also place a great emphasis on helping our own people succeed with their physical and mental well-being. Both Cassie-Ann and Hassan have the ambition, work ethic and desire to succeed; values that align perfectly with our own business.”
SportsAid supports over 1,000 athletes each year – the vast majority aged between 12 to 18. The award they receive acts as a real motivational boost as it is often the first recognition they are given outside of their support network. These athletes are the country’s brightest sporting prospects. They are nominated to SportsAid by the governing bodies of more than 60 sports based on set criteria.
Since 1976, SportsAid has supported tens of thousands of athletes by distributing over £50 million in awards. The charity's extensive alumni stretch across the generations with Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Mo Farah, Baroness Grey-Thompson, Dame Sarah Storey, Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Katherine Grainger, Daley Thompson CBE and Denise Lewis OBE, all stand-out names.