31 May 2024 , 19:02
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England’s amputee football team will line up at the Euros on Sunday thanks to the generosity of Mirror readers.
The lads’ amazing stories touched your hearts, especially when they told us they needed to raise £30,000 for travel costs. After you dug deep, they smashed their target and will kick off their campaign in Evian, France, with a Group B 7-a-side clash versus Georgia at 3pm on Sunday.
Head coach Scott Rogers said: “All these brave lads have lost a leg or an arm due to cancer, birth defects or accidents but it doesn’t stop them getting on the football pitch. They were desperate to represent their country and make us all proud. And now, thanks to the Mirror, they have been given the chance to.”
The lads have been playing together for three years after being spotted by scouts.
The England Amputee Football Association was established as a charity in 2006, but does not receive FA funding. It depends on fundraising and sponsorship, with more cash needed to play at the Amp Cup in Poland in September.
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Scott added: “They all have such talent. When we won the Nations League in Poland last June it was such a proud moment.
England will face Georgia in their first match"It was the first major trophy we had won in over 30 years. They have a really good chance of winning these championships and the Mirror readers have been behind them all the way. We couldn’t have got here without them.”
The squad are: Harry Ash, 24, Helder Silva, 35, Jamie Oakey, 20, Jamie Tregaskiss, 29, Kieran Lambourne, 25, Liam Burbridge, 31, Martin Heald, 32, Nathan Fisher, 29, Rhys Ramsden, 23, Sean Jackson, 23, Thomas Atkinson, 20, and Terence John Yates, 32.
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