The Junior England Amputee Football Team is fundraising to compete in the World Cup in Mexico. They are favorites to win, but financial challenges threaten their participation.
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Junior England Amputee Football Team
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The World Cup is just around the corner — but one team is struggling to get there.
Although the England Amputee Football Association is set to compete at the World Cup in Mexico this summer, the team has been unable to raise the requisite funds to make it there. Now, the junior members of their club are going out to help fundraise and ensure the team has the chance to compete.
Speaking with Craig Doyle and Siân Welby on a Monday, May 4 episode of This Morning, Junior England Amputee Football Association coach Elaine Oakley explained how she found the organization — and her personal connection to the sport.
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Oakley said her son Jamie had a birth defect that caused him to be born without a foot and with a shorter leg. She explained he always had a passion for soccer, but was told he couldn't play on a team.
“[He was] told he can’t carry on playing football because they just couldn’t…he had a prosthetic leg and there was no football for him," recalled Oakley. "So they said you can train, but you’ll never be able to play in a football match. So I thought, ‘This can’t be right.'"
The team is fundraising to cover expenses for competing in the World Cup in Mexico.
The coach is Elaine Oakley, who emphasizes the team's role in boosting confidence for kids with disabilities.
The World Cup is significant as the team is a favorite to win, showcasing their skills and representing disabled athletes on an international stage.
Families are actively involved in fundraising efforts to help the team participate in the World Cup.
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She searched everywhere for a team that would let her son play and eventually was led in the direction of the England Amputee Football Association. At the time, there weren't separate teams for kids and adults. Oakley ended up speaking with the head coach, and a junior team was created.
Stock photo of a soccer ball.
Credit: Getty
Oakley shared that involving kids with disabilities in sports is incredibly important for their self esteem. She said that she often sees kids' confidence boost after joining the club.
"They come to us, they are a bag of nerves," Oakley said. "And I always get a phone call. I seem to be everybody’s first point of call."
"I get that phone call, I send the kids out, I speak to the parents, I add them to our chat group and I say to them, ‘Please come along. It’s all funded by the charity. Please come along and help us,'" she explained. "And next thing, the children are there."
"And I say to the parents every time, ‘Your child will not want to go home on Sunday.’ And every child who says, ‘Mom, please or dad, please, tell us when’s the next one!’ So yeah, it’s amazing.”
Stock photo of a soccer field.
Credit: Getty
Oakley's son Jamie now plays for the men's amputee team, which is set to head to Mexico this summer. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to get funding for the trip yet.
"We are a charity. These kids have been out trying to raise little bits of money and they’ve done absolutely amazingly well," she said. "But 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 pull out."
Arthur, an amputee child who joined Oakley and some of his teammates on the program, explained in his own words why the team is so important.
“The month I was amputated, a couple of weeks before, one of the occupational therapists on the ward I was in knew of the England Amputee Football Association and got us in contact with them,” said Arthur. “Within 24 hours, Elaine had called my mom. My mom came and woke me up and said that we’re gonna go."
"And then the first camp was two weeks after my amputation. So basically we had to go straight from…I think I was let out of the ward at 2 o’clock, and by 5 o’clock we went straight to Houston and went to Crew and went to play the weekend."
Stock photo of a kid with a soccer ball.
Credit: Getty
He went on to share just how special his team and teammates are to him.
"At that time, it was literally what I lived for,” said Arthur, who was going through chemotherapy. “Everything else just seemed like it was never-ending, and there was no fun and enjoyment."
"But then I go to Crew, play football with my friends, and then it was just amazing. It 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," he added.
To donate to the England Amputee Football Association's GoFundMe to help them get to the World Cup, click here.
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