Heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas and bone marrow recipients from around the world will unite on the soccer pitch to celebrate their second chance at life at the very first Transplant Football World Cup, which takes place early next month.
Men and women of all ages will compete for their countries in this inaugural event, which will be staged in the Northern Italian seaside resort of Cervia, near Bologna, from September 8-14.
Three players from Tipperary are included in the Irish squad – Paschal Kavanagh and James Harney from Clonmel and Paul Hackett, who is originally from Thurles and now lives in Dublin.
This week-long promotion of organ donation will feature seven-a-side soccer teams from across the globe including Australia, Chile, United States, France, Italy, Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Spain, as well as the Republic of Ireland.
55-year-old Paschal Kavanagh describes the kidney transplant that he received in 2015 as “a game changer.
“Overnight you can feel the difference. Before the transplant, I was tired and my muscles were cramping all the time. When I came home from work I was just conked out.
“I didn’t realise how bad I was until I received the transplant. You are just existing.
“Touch wood, everything is going okay now. There is life after a transplant,” says Paschal, who says that his experience and that of so many others underlines the importance of organ donation.
“Even if you save one life as a result of people donating organs, it’s worth it.
“None of us would be playing in this World Cup without the gift of organ donation.
“We all love playing football. We are there as back-up for each other and there’s great camaraderie among the players”.
Above: Paschal Kavanagh
James Harney, meanwhile, was born with a complex heart condition. He underwent no fewer than seven open heart surgeries before undergoing a heart transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London in 2006. He was just nine years of age at the time and his ordeal was featured on the BBC television programme Fight For Life.
He has check-ups twice a year at the Mater Hospital in Dublin and in his own words, everything is going according to plan.
“I didn’t realise how big a deal it was until I joined the Irish team and the transplant community,” says 27-year-old James.
He says that joining the team four years ago and meeting people who had gone through similar experiences has given him a real purpose.
“It goes beyond football. The main goal is to represent ourselves and our donors and spread the message about organ donation, with so many people in Ireland and throughout the world on the waiting list”.
There’s also a competitive edge to the team, and the matches they play.
“We want to win but being there and being able to compete is the win in itself,” says James, who’s from Clerihan.
Players who are over 18 have to achieve a certain level of fitness and must be given the go-ahead by medical consultants before they can tog out and play.
The 40-minute games are played on astro turf pitches.
In recent seasons the Irish team, which includes players from around the country, has competed in tournaments in Birmingham and Coventry, as well as in Wales earlier this year.
“We put a lot of effort into it. Games are played at a very high level,” says Paschal Kavanagh.
In preparation for the tournament in Italy, the squad has been training every week at The Watershed leisure centre in Kilkenny under the watchful eyes of coaches Matthew Dunne and Richard Watson.
Above: James Harney
The tournament in Italy is being organised by the World Transplant Federation and is modelled on the FIFA World Cup.
However, the Irish team receives no funding from the FAI and the players have to fundraise to cover their costs, including flights, accommodation and insurance, as well as travelling to training sessions.
The community in Clonmel and south Tipperary has rallied in support of the local players.
“There’s great goodwill out there for us, we have received absolutely brilliant support,” says Paschal Kavanagh.
James Harney describes the support locally as “incredible”.
Fundraisers have been held at Moynihan’s bar in Clonmel and Harney’s in Clerihan, while local businesses have offered generous donations.
Fundraisers organised in the Clonmel area have generated between €9,000 and €10,000.
The team’s jerseys are sponsored by a Dublin company, Sonas Bathrooms.