Kids Who Play on an Amputee Soccer Team Are Raising Money for the Men's Division to Go to the Amputee Football World Cup

She shared that when young children "come to us, they are a bag of nerves" — until the children play in their first match. "I say to the parents every time, your child will not want to go home on Sunday. And every child always says, 'Mom, please.' Or, 'Dad, please tell us when's the next one? When's the next one?' So, yeah, it's amazing."

Oakey added that "all these children all have one goal in the end and that is to play internationally for their country."

"Unfortunately ... we haven't got the funding for it. We are a charity," she explained, which is why they're focusing on sending the men's team, as "it's an awful lot of money to get us to the World Cup and we're favorites to win, and we don't want to have to pull out."

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The team is raising money via a GoFundMe, which reads, "They desperately need our support to help cover essential costs including travel, accommodation, training camps, and even kit!"

The EAFA’s Men’s National Team
Credit: Peter Robinson/@PDRPhotos

Arthur, who joined the team "two weeks after my amputation," told the morning show that three hours after he was released from the hospital, he "went to play."

"At that time, it was literally what I lived for. Everything else just seemed like it was never-ending, and there was no fun and enjoyment," he said. "But then I'd go to [practice], play football with my friends and then it was just amazing."

The 12-year-old explained that amputee football "made me feel so much better and it made me feel like I was able to have fun again, even though I was in the hospital most of the time."

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