England call-up for Essex volleyball player

A first-year psychology student has been called up to play for England in an international volleyball game against Scotland this weekend.

Ali Ahmed (19) has helped the University team, the Essex Blades, win treble success this season – winning the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) national championship, the BUCS Premier South league and a two-day inter-university competition. The team also won ‘team of the year’ in the Essex national sports awards, and Ali was awarded the ‘outstanding contribution to sport’ award.

He has been playing volleyball since the age of 11, playing at the Ernest Bevin College in South London before coming through the England youth set-up and joining Essex on a volleyball scholarship.

This is not his first taste of international competition – he played for the under 17 and under 19 England teams, achieving over 15 caps, and as a 17-year-old he earned four caps in the men’s senior team. However, this will be the first time he has faced the men’s national team for Scotland.