When Martin Jackson walked off the pitch following Ramsbotton United's victory over Cheadle Town in October 2024, he could never have imagined that he would one day become world champions.
Moreover, just a few days after that match, his main goal was simply to stay alive. Just a couple of days later, Jackson felt unwell during the night and was admitted to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle usually caused by an infection.
A few weeks later, he was included in the list of patients who needed a transplant on an emergency basis.
A donor heart saved his life. In November 2024, Jackson underwent a successful transplant at Wythenshawe Hospital in Greater Manchester.
Now fast forward to September 2026: Jackson scored for England in the World Cup final for organ transplant teams. The English beat Spain 5:1.
Like Jackson, all of his Spanish teammates and opponents are living with organ transplants.
“Of course, after the transplant you don’t think you’ll ever be able to play again. At least that's what I thought," Jackson tells BBC Sport.
“I will always be grateful to my donor and his family for what they gave me. They gave me life and the opportunity to live it fully,” he adds.
Football at the Organ Transplant World Cup is somewhat different from the game we see at the FIFA World Cup.
The rules take into account the condition of the players, each of whom underwent surgery that radically changed his life.
Teams play in a seven-on-seven format, and the match consists of two halves of 20 minutes each. According to Jackson, the contact wrestling here "isn't as tough as I'm used to."
Before the operation, he played regular 11v11 football in the ninth highest division of the English football system. When Jackson joined the England transplant squad in January 2026, he became a major addition to the squad.
In his youth, Jackson studied at the Manchester United academy and then played for Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End and Burnley. He eventually gave up trying to build a professional career and played for clubs at various levels of English amateur and semi-professional football for 13 years.
During his recovery, his wife Lucy learned through social media about the opportunity to join the England Transplant FC team.
England head coach Daley Cross describes Lucy's role this way: “She was just trying to do her best for him and find a way to motivate him. In a conversation, his wife mentioned that during his school years he played for Manchester United. Of course, we immediately pricked up our ears.”
“As soon as I saw him on the field, it immediately became clear: despite the fact that very little time has passed since the transplant, he understands football perfectly and can become an incredibly valuable player for us,” continues the coach.
“After diagnosis, during treatment and even after transplantation, a person can find himself in a very difficult emotional state. So just having a team that helps and inspires people allows us to find amazing players,” Cross says. “And this is precisely its main strength: we show people who have undergone transplantation and the whole world that organ failure does not mean that life is over. A person has a chance to return to normal life and move on with life.”
Since receiving a donor heart, Jackson has had to monitor his physical activity much more carefully than his teammates, many of whom have had kidney transplants, the most common type of transplant in the UK.
That's why Jackson usually takes the field for about ten minutes at a time rather than playing the entire game.
In 2022, Bayern Munich player Alphonso Davies was diagnosed with a mild form of myocarditis. He did not enter the field for almost five months and was under the supervision of cardiologists during this entire time, after which he was able to return to football.
Jackson felt unwell two days after Ramsbottom's win over Cheadle Town. His condition eventually became so severe that doctors had to install a mechanical pump, which kept his heart pumping and kept Martin alive.
“Of course it was very scary,” he says. “But when you are in critical condition, there is practically nothing that can be done about it. We have to accept what is happening.”
Jackson was included in the list of patients who require an emergency heart transplant. This is the highest of three priority categories for those awaiting a donor heart. Typically in the UK there are only four or five people on such a list at any one time.
Dr Paul Callan, consultant cardiologist at Wythenshawe Hospital Heart and Lung Centre, worked with Jackson during his diagnosis and subsequent recovery.
“We used to tell patients that the average wait time on the emergency transplant list was seven days,” he says. — Now it has increased to 14 days. About 10% of patients on this list deteriorate so much that they have to be removed from the list.”
The increase in waiting times comes as the number of organ donors in the UK falls, with numbers down 9% in 2026 compared to the same period last year. There are currently 8,700 people waiting for organ donations - a record high, according to NHS Blood and Transplant.
“It’s really important to talk about it and talk to people about organ donation,” says England head coach Cross. — After all, our team exists only thanks to donors. If it weren't for organ donation, I wouldn't have 16 players to coach. And England couldn't win the World Cup."
