Richardson, who has volunteered for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), is said to have set an "outstanding example of the impact people can have on peace and sustainable development".

His original volunteering project was to write news articles on blind football, where he interviewed leading players for the IPC.

He also posted regular updates on the Blind Football Facebook page, which is run by IBSA.

Richardson then sought to extend the content further by contacting the National Paralympic Committee of China to post updates on their events, as well as providing reports on countries such as South Korea, Mali and Zimbabwe.

"I am overwhelmed with joy to win the United Nations Online Volunteering Award," Richardson said.

"To be recognised on such a macro-level scale is a great feeling and just adds additional fuel for me to continue widely promoting blind football.

"It has been a tremendous experience volunteering with IBSA and the IPC in this special role.

"The staff from both organisations have been extremely supportive with my personal development in providing me resourceful contacts and the opportunity to cover their sanctioned competitions.

"This all comes down to a team effort and we will continue to work hard to push awareness of blind football to even greater heights this year.

"I feel the biggest achievement was an interview I posted regarding Dorien Cornelis becoming the first female player to compete at an IBSA Blind Football Regional Championship.

"It reached 12,000 people on Facebook and a tweet being liked by Romelu Lukaku, striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the Belgium national team, which indicated that the sport is gaining attention from public figures in mainstream media."

Richardson also boasts experience in disability football - including as a disability officer and football coach - in London, Lusaka and Beijing.

He created an IBSA African Blind Football page on Facebook to connect players before the African Blind Football Championships in Cape Verde.

As well as connecting the 200 players and officials, he worked with the IPC to create a social media campaign to highlight the growth of the sport in African nations.

It is claimed Richardson spends nearly 10 hours a week working for the IPC.

"Keon is extremely committed and has repeatedly gone above and beyond to deliver great results," said Natalia Dannenberg-Spreier, the IPC's digital senior manager. 

"He shows initiative and brings his own ideas to the table.

"He's also great at networking within the blind football community to find great content.

"He doesn't just do what he's asked, he does a whole lot more.

"The IBSA Blind Football Facebook page ranks top for engagement on the project with 136,000 video views and 33,882 likes, comments and shares in the last year.

"This is a fantastic achievement for such a small sport."