It was a childhood dream of Kieran Lambourne to represent his country in football – and at 18-years-old he’ll be doing just that when he steps out on the pitch for England at the Amputee World Cup.
Kieran, from Tilney St Lawrence near Wisbech, will be goalkeeper for England in Mexico this October – with the team already expected to be one of the forerunners of the tournament.
He made the cut for the World Cup squad earlier this year after attending several training camps and performing well in league action.
It has meant that Kieran, who was born without one of his arms below the elbow, has had to work around his studies at Portsmouth University to play in matches across the globe.
He said: “It’s a pretty great feeling to be taking part in something like this. We are doing a lot of practice tournaments at the minute in the lead up to the real thing.
“It’s a massive thing to take part in and representing England is something you can only dream of when you’re a child.
“I’ll be goalkeeper so it’s an important position so I’m making sure I’m keeping up training at the minute.”
Kieran made his England debut in Dublin earlier this month, playing in a 2-0 win over Poland.
He also plays in goal for Peterborough United Amputees in the English league and previously Wisbech Acorns.
Proud father, John Lambourne, said: “The England team are very good and expected to do well in the World Cup.
“They came runners-up last year in the Euros, losing to the host team Turkey in front of 40,000 fans at the Besiktas stadium.
“It’s a great opportunity for Kieran and he has been working really hard and putting in a lot of effort and going to training camps.
“He was often player of the season when he played for Wisbech Acorns, so to see him progress to this level has been brilliant.
“I’m very proud of him and all he has achieved so far.”
As the England team is not supported financially by the FA, each selected player has been asked to raise £1500 to assist with travel costs for pre-world cup warm-up tournaments in Houston, Texas and Warsaw ahead of travelling out to Mexico.
Kieran is nearly there with his fundraising, but donations are still welcome.
Visit: www.gofundme.com/send-england-amps-to-the-world-cup for more information.
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