A SCOTS surgeon and former football player has agreed to a three-year sponsorship deal with Scotland’s national Amputee Football team.
The Mackay Clinic, headed up by Professor Gordon Mackay, will fund essential equipment, travel, facility hire, training kit and match strips as the Scotland team prepares to compete in the inaugural Amputee Football Nations League in October 2023.
In Fife, Scotland will host the group stages of the competition – with the team ranking in group D – which represents the biggest amputee football event to take place on Scottish soil.
The sponsorship will also ensure that the Amputee Football Association Scotland (AFAS) junior players can attend the annual four-day training camp, which will bring together more than 100 young amputees from across Europe to train and play football.
Amputee football is fast paced, dynamic and physically gruelling on the upper body. It is well established across the world, with leagues operating in more than 30 countries worldwide.
Scotland currently plays in the Irish Amputee Football league, where players are on crutches and divided in teams of seven-a-side.
Those in goals must have an upper limb amputation, while those on the field a lower amputation.
Professor Mackay was an aspiring player with Rangers in his youth before suffering an injury and being drawn back to the field of medicine, where he is now an international sports surgeon.
His speciality is in innovation in the field of tendon and ligament repair, and he is the inventor of the InternalBrace repair technique, which often halves the recovery time back to work or sport and is now used in over 30 countries around the world.
On supporting the team, Mackay says: “My wife Jackie and I feel inspired by the courage and ability displayed by those who play this challenging sport, not only on the pitch but behind the scenes supporting one another as a community.
“The sport offers tremendous encouragement to those who have recovered from serious illness and injury or are in the process of recovery and dreaming of a return to sport.”
Ashley Reid, founder of AFAS and CEO of the Scottish FA’s Scottish Para-Football organisation, says: “We are both hugely grateful and overwhelmed at the support from The Mackay Clinic and look forward to seeing the benefits of the partnership come to fruition.”
“The support from The Mackay Clinic will have an enormous impact – from ensuring we can compete in our first major competition to funding a once in a lifetime opportunity for our younger players in Poland.”
After each match, AFAS will announce the Mackay Man of the Match.
AFAS was founded in 2017 to create opportunities for those with limb loss to participate in football.
It is a Game Leader of Scottish Para-Football, the Scottish FA’s National Association and governing body for all forms of para football in Scotland.
