Wales Transplant Football Team join WSA as Full Member
The Welsh Sports Association (WSA) is delighted to welcome the Wales Transplant Football Team to the membership base as a Full Member.
Established in 2017, the Wales Transplant Football Team exists to offer as many transplant patients as possible a means to get active pre and post-transplant. With its reach, the organisation offers an educational setting for transplant patients to maintain fitness, and experience the benefit that could have to the longevity of the transplanted organ.
Affiliated to fellow WSA member, the Football Association of Wales, the Wales Transplant Football Team has gone from strength to strength since its formation.
Offering regular training sessions under the direction of an experienced from three experienced coaches throughout the year, team members represented Wales at the inaugural Transplant Football World Cup in Italy last year, returning home with an 8th-placed finish.
Stewart Cleaver, a team member who was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease as a teenager, commented at the time:
“Being part of this team is great. We encourage each other and have a great laugh. I was delighted when I received the letter to say I would be going to represent Wales. It’ll be an emotional experience but one I’ll very much enjoy.”
Describing the organisation and its importance, Manager Shaun Ruck stated:
“We are built on something timeless. A belief that every person deserves the chance to rise, to grow, to become more than they were the day before. Whether that begins with fitness, learning the game, or discovering how to live with purpose before or after a transplant, we offer a space where every journey has a place to begin.
“But what matters most lives beneath the surface. Beyond the training and the goals, something greater begins to take shape. Trust. Friendship. A quiet sense of belonging that cannot be forced and cannot be faked. It grows when people come together with open hearts and shared purpose.
“This is more than sport. This is a way forward. A way to feel seen, to feel understood, to know without question that you are not alone.
“Because no matter who we are or where we come from, we all carry the same truth. Every one of us wants to feel that we belong. And here, you do.”
Commenting on the organisation’s membership of the WSA, Shaun added:
“One of our foundations is to provide opportunity at all levels of football experience and fitness. Affiliating to the FAW has connected us with experienced development teams that have been able to help us with projects we have aimed to grow since that time.
“Now we hope becoming a member of the WSA will support us expand our organisation and support even more individuals living with chronic organ failure (COF). With the WSA’s expertise and our knowledge of COF, we will work towards expanding our holistic football projects for patients and their families across Wales.”
English