‘Heroic’ footballer aims to compete in first ever Transplant World Cup

A “heroic” footballer is aiming to compete in the first ever Transplant Football World Cup after his sister gave him one of her kidneys.

Rhys Owen is a member of the Wales Transplant Team, which is raising money so it can compete in an international competition that will be held in Italy in September.

The 37-year-old investment analyst for wealth management firm Quilter, who lives in Bangor, and is originally from Connah’s Quay, was able to have a kidney transplant four years ago thanks to an organ donation by his loving younger sister Hannah Kennedy, 29.

The father of 3 has described the opportunity to represent his country on the international stage as the stuff of “dreams”.

Match funding

The team’s fundraising efforts have been backed by pro-independence group, YesCymru. The campaigning organisation has set up a crowdfunding page and has pledged to provide match funding for the final total raised up to £5,000.

YesCymru Chair Phyl Griffiths has described the group of players as “heroic”

The team is coached by John Murphy, a former Swansea City Centre of Excellence coach.

Community

Rhys explained how he found out he had chronic kidney disease: “I left university and I went to join a gym in Deeside where they took my blood pressure, and I was told it was too high and that I should get it checked out with the local GP.

“So I went to the GP and found out that I had what’s called chronic kidney disease, which is a slow erosion of the kidney function. Though I’d had it all my life I was only diagnosed at the age of 21. I was on roughly about 30% kidney function at that time.

“And then fast forward to February 2020 and then I was in a position to either need dialysis or a transplant, and thankfully my younger sister Hannah stepped up to donate to me.

“It was successful in that it wasn’t fully rejected by my body. It was rejected partially. I’ve got the best kidney function I’ve ever had and that’s around 50%. It’s not a cure but it’s given me a much better quality of life. I have more energy and feel less unwell. It’s other people that notice the difference in me more.

“At the point where I needed a transplant, I would need to have a kip on a Saturday and a Sunday when I wasn’t working. I don’t need any of that now. I’ve got a lot more energy and I’ve been able to accomplish a lot since I’ve had the transplant and long may that function continue.

“I’m under no illusions that the transplant isn’t a cure and it will eventually deteriorate to the point where I need further treatment but at the moment I’m happy and I can’t complain.

“Hannah donating this kidney meant the world to me. It gave me a new lease of life, and from a health point of view it has changed things. My quality of life is markedly better.”

“Post-transplant someone from the Kidney Wales charity messaged me and told me that there was a Kidney Wales football team and a transplant games team that go British Transplant Games which is organised every year.

“I attended my first one on in 2022, and you get to choose which sport you take part in. I chose football not really knowing that there was already this community lads playing it.

“So I went along, I played in the tournament and joined the team and the community of lads from there really, and now we’re heading towards the World Cup. It’s a cracking bunch of lads

“Before the transplant, I used to do Thai boxing. But post-transplant that went out of the window because I couldn’t really take any contact to the abdomen area.

“So being able to play football, being able to do sport again, and do a thing I enjoyed again with people who have been through a similar experience to my self is incredibly powerful.

“Post-transplant, if you haven’t got a community, you won’t have the kind of people around you who can truly empathise with what you’ve been through and some of the struggles.

“So, it’s incredibly important to kick a ball, kick a bag of wind, but with people who know where you’ve come from and know where you’ve been.

“Having the opportunity to represent Wales at the Transplant World Cup means everything. I’m a proud Welshman so getting to represent my country would be absolutely incredible. We’ll be playing international teams.

“This is the stuff of dreams and the stuff you don’t think is going to happen, especially post-transplant. So it’s going to mean an awful lot. Doing something like this seemed unimaginable at certain points in my life.

“I’d like to give a heartfelt thanks to YesCymru for their support. It’s a huge boost and it means a great deal.”

Pride

YesCymru Chair Phyl Griffiths said: “We are incredibly proud to support the Wales Transplant national football team. It is more than a team, and each one of its players is heroic. They are a powerful support network and social group providing help and opportunities for young people who have had organ transplants.

“With enough support, for the first time ever, Wales Transplant Team will be representing Cymru at the World Cup in Italy in September.

“YesCymru wants to make sure that this remarkable group can make history and fly the flag of Wales on the world stage, which is why we have chosen them as our nominated cause for this year. As an organisation we will match the donations of supporters of this campaign up to £5000.

“We believe that our strength as a country comes from our communities and the transplant community in Wales is a fine example of that.”

To find out more about Rhys’s crowdfunder, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/yes-cymru-5