A goal for England in the final of the Transplant Football World Cup in September 2026 came from Martyn Jackson, and his path to that moment began at a Ramsbottom United match in October 2024. After walking off the pitch following Ramsbottom’s 2-1 victory over Cheadle Town, he had no idea he would go on to lift the trophy. His mind was on something far more basic than winning: simply staying alive.
Not long after the game, Jackson began experiencing symptoms at night. A hospital visit led to a diagnosis of myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart typically brought on by an infection. In a matter of weeks, he was put on the super urgent waiting list for a transplant. His life was preserved when a donor heart became available, and on 28 November 2024, he underwent successful surgery at Wythenshawe Hospital in Greater Manchester.
By September 2026, Jackson had found himself on the scoresheet during the final of the Transplant World Cup, helping his side to a 5-1 draw against Spain. Every player on both sides was a recipient of a donor organ, just as he was.
The Heart Condition
Two days after Ramsbottom beat Cheadle, Jackson began feeling unwell, and his condition grew so serious that doctors were forced to implant a mechanical pump into his heart to sustain him. “Of course it was extremely scary,” he says, “but at that stage, when you are critically ill, there’s not really much you can do about it. You have to accept it.”
The waiting list he was put on is the highest tier of patients waiting for a new heart, with just a few people usually on it at once across the whole country. There are three tiers of patients in total, and this list sits at the top of them. In the UK, only around four or five people are typically placed on it at any given moment.
The Transplant Journey
Jackson took his time getting back to full health after the operation. Lucy, his wife, came across a post on social media about joining an England Transplant FC team. She got in touch to assist, and during her exchange with the team, she shared something that drew their notice.
“She was just trying to do her best for him and trying to find a way to motivate him,” Daley Cross, manager of the England team, said. “His wife did drop in the conversation that he used to play at Manchester United as a schoolboy. So that got our ears twitched instantly.”
Before he quit the sport, Jackson played for Manchester United’s academy and then had stints at Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End and Burnley. After that, he went on to spend 13 years with clubs in the lower divisions of English football.
Cross added: “You could tell from him being on the pitch, even though he was so fresh into his journey, that he knew the football game and he would be such an incredible asset to us.”
Playing Again
Jackson played 11-a-side football in the ninth tier of English football before his operation. The sport at the Transplant World Cup differs from the game at the Fifa World Cup, since it centres on how fragile each player’s body has become after undergoing life-altering surgery.
The matches feature seven players per side and run for two 20-minute halves. Jackson says contact is “not as aggressive as I was used to”, and he joined the national transplant team in January 2026, becoming a game-changing new addition to the squad.
Jackson’s position as a recipient of a donor heart means he must watch his physical exertion more closely than his team-mates, many of whom carry kidney transplants, which remain the most frequent kind of transplant in the United Kingdom.
The Remarkable Recovery
Dr Paul Callan, a consultant cardiologist at Wythenshawe Hospital’s Heart and Lung Centre, described Jackson’s progress as “remarkable”. The doctor treated Jackson through his diagnosis and recovery, and he said it was remarkable that Jackson made a recovery within that time frame, going on to play football in a Transplant World Cup.
“Initially, we used to quote an average wait of seven days on the urgent transplant list,” he says. “Now it’s up to 14 days. Maybe 10% of patients who are put on the list get too poorly and have to be taken off the list.”
The Waiting List Problem
A decrease in the number of organ donors in the United Kingdom has caused longer waiting times for patients. In 2026, there was a 9% decline compared to the same period last year. The current total of people waiting for a donor organ sits at 8,700, which NHS Blood and Transplant says marks an all-time high.
This Organ Donation Week, running from 21-28 September, the NHS has launched an urgent response plan to address the decline.
A Message About Donation
He has not met the family of the person who gave him his new heart, and he says he is thinking about contacting them near the two-year mark after his surgery.
His gratitude is direct. “Obviously, when you’ve had a transplant, you don’t think you’re ever going to play again. That’s what I thought anyway,” Jackson tells BBC Sport. “I’ll be forever grateful to my donor and the family for what they’ve given me. They’ve given me the gift of life and the opportunity to live my life to the fullest.”
Six teams were beaten by England on their path to lifting last Friday’s final in Frankfurt, with the team scoring 36 goals. Each player at the tournament expresses gratitude for simply having the chance to take part in another football match.
“It is so important to spread that message, have that conversation about organ donation,” says England manager Cross, “because our team only exists for that reason. I wouldn’t have 16 players to manage if we didn’t have organ donation. And England wouldn’t have just gone and won a World Cup.”
What Made Jackson’s Return Possible
The sequence of events that defines Jackson’s story is one that few people manage to endure. The order of these incidents is laid out below.
- A Ramsbottom United match in October 2024 left him feeling unwell within days.
- He was diagnosed with myocarditis and placed on the super urgent waiting list for a transplant.
- He received a donor heart on 28 November 2024 at Wythenshawe Hospital.
- He recovered enough to join the national transplant team in January 2026.
- He scored in the final of the Transplant World Cup in September 2026.
Each step depended on someone else’s willingness to give. The donor’s family, Jackson’s wife, the transplant team, and the England managers all played a part in getting him back to the pitch.
The Broader Picture
Organ donation makes the Transplant World Cup possible. No donors mean no transplant teams, and without transplant teams, there is no tournament. The fall in organ donors is a serious problem, and the NHS has put together an urgent response plan to try to turn it around.
The Transplant World Cup brings attention to the more than 8,700 people who are waiting for a donor organ. Every athlete on that field stands for a life transformed by a gift, and every game offers an opportunity to discuss the importance of organ donation.
Jackson’s path from Ramsbottom’s pitch to a World Cup winner is a story of survival and recovery. It is also a story about the people who made it possible — his donor, his family, his wife, his team-mates, and everyone else who chose to give.
Source material: “The footballer who had a heart transplant – then became a World Cup winner,” the BBC.
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