The footballer who had a heart transplant - then became a World Cup winner

ByJoe Lynskey

BBC Sport Journalist

When Martyn Jackson walked disconnected the transportation aft Ramsbottom United's 2-1 triumph implicit Cheadle Town successful October 2024, it ne'er crossed his caput that 1 time helium could beryllium a World Cup winner.

In fact, successful the days aft that match, his extremity was conscionable staying alive.

Just a mates of days aft the last whistle, Jackson started to consciousness unwell during the night.

He went into infirmary and was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the bosom usually caused by an infection. Within weeks, helium was placed connected the ace urgent waiting database for a transplant.

His beingness was saved erstwhile a donor bosom became available, and connected 28 November 2024, helium had palmy country astatine Wythenshawe Hospital successful Greater Manchester.

Fast guardant to September 2026, and Jackson scored for England successful their 5-1 triumph implicit Spain successful the last of the Transplant Football World Cup.

His team-mates and opponents were, similar him, each recipients of a donor organ.

"Obviously, erstwhile you've had a transplant, you don't deliberation you're ever going to play again. That's what I thought anyway," Jackson tells BBC Sport.

"I'll beryllium everlastingly grateful to my donor and the household for what they've fixed me. They've fixed maine the acquisition of beingness and the accidental to unrecorded my beingness to the fullest."

Football astatine the Transplant World Cup is not rather the aforesaid arsenic the crippled played astatine the Fifa World Cup.

Instead, it reflects however delicate each player's assemblage is having been done life-altering surgery.

Matches are seven-a-side and played implicit 20-minute halves. Contact is "not arsenic assertive arsenic I was utilized to", Jackson says.

Having played 11-a-side shot successful the ninth tier of English shot earlier his surgery, helium became a game-changing caller summation to the nationalist transplant squad erstwhile helium joined up with the squad successful January 2026.

Jackson spent his younker vocation successful the academy astatine Manchester United, earlier spells astatine Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End and Burnley. He yet stopped pursuing a vocation arsenic a nonrecreational and spent 13 years with clubs crossed the non-league pyramid.

During his recovery, woman Lucy heard astir the accidental to articulation an England Transplant FC squad connected societal media.

Daley Cross, manager of the England team, said of Lucy's role: "She was conscionable trying to bash her champion for him and trying to find a mode to motivate him.

"His woman did driblet successful the speech that helium utilized to play astatine Manchester United arsenic a schoolboy. So that got our ears twitched instantly.

"You could archer from him being connected the pitch, adjacent though helium was truthful caller into his journey, that helium knew the shot crippled and helium would beryllium specified an unthinkable plus to us.

"You tin beryllium successful a acheronian place, astatine the clip of diagnosis, done your attraction oregon adjacent post-transplant. So to person america beryllium to assistance and animate radical means that we are getting immoderate unthinkable footballers.

"And that truly is the powerfulness of it: to that transplant assemblage oregon to the world, showing radical that erstwhile you've had organ failure, your beingness isn't over. There is simply a accidental for you, and you tin spell and resume and unrecorded your life."

As the recipient of a donor heart, Jackson has to negociate his workout workload much cautiously than his team-mates, galore of whom person had kidney transplants, the astir communal transplant successful the UK.

His relation successful the broadside tends to impact 10-minute bursts, alternatively than playing for the duration of matches.

Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies was diagnosed with a mild signifier of myocarditis successful 2022. He was sidelined for astir 5 months, undergoing specializer cardiac monitoring, earlier returning to play.

Jackson started to consciousness sick 2 days aft Ramsbottom side's triumph implicit Cheadle, and his lawsuit became truthful terrible that doctors had to acceptable his bosom with a mechanical pump to support him alive.

"Of people it was highly scary," helium says, "but astatine that stage, erstwhile you are critically ill, there's not truly overmuch you tin bash astir it. You person to judge it."

The ace urgent waiting database helium was placed connected is the highest precedence of the 3 tiers of patients waiting for a caller heart. Typically, lone astir 4 oregon 5 radical are connected the database astatine immoderate 1 clip successful the UK.

Dr Paul Callan, a advisor cardiologist astatine Wythenshawe Hospital's Heart and Lung Centre, worked with Jackson during his diagnosis and recovery.

"Initially, we utilized to punctuation an mean hold of 7 days connected the urgent transplant list," helium says. "Now it's up to 14 days. Maybe 10% of patients who are enactment connected the database get excessively poorly and person to beryllium taken disconnected the list."

That accrued waiting clip is the effect of a simplification successful the numbers of organ donors successful the UK, with a 9% driblet recorded successful 2026 compared to the aforesaid play past year. There are 8,700 radical presently waiting for a donor organ, a fig that NHS Blood and Transplant accidental is an all-time high.

This Organ Donation Week,, external which runs from 21-28 September, the NHS has launched an urgent effect program to code the decline.

Jackson has yet to conscionable the household of the donor from which helium received his caller heart. He says helium is considering reaching retired to them astir the two-year day of his surgery.

For him to marque a betterment wrong that clip frame, culminating successful playing shot successful a Transplant World Cup, is "remarkable", according to Dr Callan.

England bushed six teams connected their mode to winning past Friday's last successful Frankfurt, scoring 36 goals, but for each subordinate astatine the tourney determination is gratitude that they adjacent person the accidental to play a shot lucifer again.

"It is truthful important to dispersed that message, person that speech astir organ donation," says England manager Cross, "because our squad lone exists for that reason.

"I wouldn't person 16 players to negociate if we didn't person organ donation. And England wouldn't person conscionable gone and won a World Cup."