A FOOTBALL mad boy from Tynedale has been called up by the Football Association to kick home an important message about colourblindness.

Marcus Wells (10), of Wylam, is the subject of a 20-minute documentary produced by the national FA, entitled ‘The Colourful Game’, to raise awareness of the daily struggles faced by people living with colourblindness.

Marcus was diagnosed with protanopia, a rare form of the condition which means his eyes can’t pick up the colour red, when he was just six-years-old.

While he loved playing football with his friends at Stocksfield, he often faced problems on the pitch including struggling to tell the difference between opposing strips and distinguishing different coloured training cones.

His mother Marie Di Folco said: “It is so important the FA is driving this message and I hope others will pick it up too, especially the education sector.

“I feel so passionate about raising awareness of colourblindness because I was staggered to learn one in 12 boys are colourblind, while one in 200 girls are.

“It is such a common problem but so many people go through undiagnosed. Most colourblind children across the country aren’t getting their needs met, and I just want everybody to be on a level playing field.”