First Transplant European Football Championship to take place in Oxford
The tournament aims to promote transplant football and raise awareness for organ donation
The first Transplant European Football Championship is to take place in Oxford at Radley College with six nations taking part, with the ultimate goal of raising awareness.
The tournament follows on from last year's first World Transplant Football Cup held in Cervia, Italy, and aims to promote transplant football and raise awareness for organ donation.
It will take place between April 2 and April 6, 2025. Nations competing include England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Spain and Wales, as they all look to be crowned Champions.
"The bigger picture is to showcase what can be achieved after having a transplant"
Kevin Kyley received a kidney transplant at the Churchill Hospital after suffering Buerger's disease which affects blood vessels in the legs and arms, leading to damage in his kidneys.
Mr Kyley says he found out about the rare condition after playing football and broke his wrist.
He says, “They said I need an operation on it. So, I went into the hospital for a pre-op assessment. They took my blood pressure, and it was sky high, and they did some tests and found out I had Buerger's disease.”
Later, Kevin’s mum came forward as a donor and he says, “I felt like I was put in my mum through an operation that she didn't need but you never know when you're going to find a match, and it's just the waiting game.
“So, to have my mum offer to donate, we could just get the transplantation process going straight away which was a big weight off my shoulders”.
The England team will have their sights set on silverware during the tournament and Mr Kyley says raising awareness is the “ultimate goal”.
He said: “We spoke about wanting to win the tournament, but the bigger picture is to showcase what can be achieved after having a transplant.
“There's lots more people needing a transplant and there aren’t many organs available. So, if we can raise awareness and get more people to sign up, that's the ultimate goal.”
He added: “It's important to have conversations with your loved ones. A lot of the time, your loved ones or family members don't actually know what your wishes were. So, if you have a conversation to say I'd like to donate my kidneys or my organs, at least they know what your wishes were.”
This week's tournament comes as Oxfordshire also prepares to host the British Transplant Games from the 31st July – 3rd August.