Wakefield duo named in GB squad for European Wheelchair Basketball Championships

The 24 players representing GB Men and GB Women at the IWBF European Championships 2025 have been confirmed by British Wheelchair Basketball, the governing body for the sport in the UK.

The competition tips off in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Friday and runs to Saturday, October 18.

The GB Men’s team went undefeated at the European Championships in 2023 and their aim will be to deliver another dominant performance this year.

Bill Johnson and Joey Johnson, the coaching team for GB Men, have been hard at work ensuring the squad is in top condition for the challenge following their silver medal performance at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The GB Women’s team looks to build on the silver earned at the 2023 European Championships, with head coach Miguel Vaquero Maestre and assistant coach Jorge Borba expertly leading preparations.

Three-time Paralympian Sophie Carrigill has been a consistent part of the GB Women’s team since her debut on court in 2013 when she received her first call-up at a European Championships.

Since then, Sophie has guided the team to new heights, including their best ever performance at a Paralympic Games in Rio and a World Championships silver medal.

On her selection, Sophie said: “This will be my seventh Europeans and it is super exciting to be selected.

"It’s always an absolute honour to represent my country. I will never ever ever take that for granted even though I’ve been in the team now for 13 years.

"My first ever GB senior tournament was a European championship in Frankfurt 2013 so we always feel special going back to Europeans.

"We’ve had some really solid and intense camps over the summer. It’s been great to get back together with the GB girls after a really great season with our clubs so yeah we’ve been training really hard.

"It’s been really intense and yeah I guess the mission for us is to go one better than we’ve ever gone before. We want to definitely make it to the final.

"We’ve got a few silver medals in the past and I’d definitely like to turn that silver medal into a gold one so fingers crossed the prep is all going to plan and we’ll put ourselves in a good position to bring home a gold medal."

Sophie added: My family and my friends are a big reason why I play wheelchair basketball and why I commit my life to doing this.

"They are always my biggest supporters and number one fans, so it’s incredibly special to be able to go out there and perform on behalf of them. I always feel like I am representing my family and that’s really special.

"I have really enjoyed playing in the Women’s Premier League this season. It’s been great to play with other women and see other women develop and come up through the ranks. Hopefully, you know, to be chasing down spots for GB in the future.

"We had a great season and we were very successful. We won the league and we also won the play-offs so I’m hoping that that continues after the summer when we start the new league.”

Lee Fryer made his GB senior debut at the 2023 European Championships, wowing the crowd with his trademark dynamic and fast plays. He has since claimed a silver medal with the team at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

He commented: “It’s an absolute honour to be selected for my second European Championships and to represent the country.

"The squad is looking good, we’re preparing well and the feel around the team is better than it’s ever been before. Our goal is nothing short of gold.”

Coverage of the competition, including livestreams, fixtures and results, can be found via the British Wheelchair Basketball website.