‘We never thought we’d play football after losing limbs – but now we’re proud Lionesses’

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As the Amputee Lionesses prepare to represent England in the first-ever Women’s Amputee World Cup, The Mirror hears their incredibly inspiring stories off the pitch

They are the inspirational Lionesses who have already overcome much bigger challenges than football – but are now going into battle for their country.

The women, aged from 16 to 44, will be representing England at the first-ever Amputee Football Federation Women’s World Cup in Colombia next month. The team, whose first match is against Peru, have already had to show their fighting spirit just to get to the tournament after raising £50,000 before they could enter the international competition.

It is also the first year that the Amputee Lionesses have competed as an all-female football team, having previously played alongside their male counterparts as a mixed-gender side. The team is made up of players who have a variety of limb differences – while some were born without limbs, others have lost limbs due to illness, injury or medical conditions.

Head coach Harry Smith told The Mirror: “I’m so proud of the girls. They are living the dream they never thought would happen – to represent their country. The amazing thing about all these girls is that they are saying, ‘I’m an amputee, now let’s crack on and play football.’ We are just so excited to be going out to the World Cup.”

Joining the squad has been life-changing for each of the women, who play without set positions apart from their goalie, Manchester football coach Sacha Bowman. Born with bones missing in both arms, due to a rare syndrome, the 24-year-old had more than 20 operations to try and straighten them.

Sacha said: “It was hard growing up. My friends were independent, but I still needed Mum to open a bottle, put my socks on and help me with my food. Being the goalie has really upped my confidence.”

Marni Voak, 17, lives in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, with her mum Emma, 40, who is her full-time carer. Emma said: “Marni was born at 29 weeks and weighed 3Ibs. She developed an infection in her left leg and it never recovered. She had multiple surgeries and then, eventually, had it amputated aged 15. She’s so excited to be going to the World Cup.”

Joint baby of the team, Annabel Kiki, 16, from Cannock, Staffordshire, lost her left leg after being diagnosed with cancer at 13 and developing sepsis. Mum Sally Remmer, 44, said: “She was determined to be an amputee athlete. We are so proud of her.”

Keeley Cerretti, also 16, from Larkhall, near Glasgow, lost her left leg after having a bacterial infection after she was born. Dad David says: “No blood was getting to her foot, and it just snapped off, like frostbite, when she was 10 days old. She’s never let it hold her back – she skis, rock climbs and swims, as well as playing football.”

Other members of the squad include student Tayla Pag, 25, a sports student at University of South Wales in Glamorgan, who had her left leg amputated five years ago after suffering from complex regional pain syndrome since she was 13, and mum-of-three Sarah Haskins, 42, from Rochester, Kent, a senior biomedical scientist who was born with a shorter right leg which became so painful she had an amputation in January 2022.

Dima Aktaa, 30, from London, lost her left leg in 2012 when bombs hit her home in Syria and got her first prosthetic when she moved to the UK in 2017. She said: “Playing football has helped me so much in my journey to recovery.”

Mum-of-two Rebecca Legon, 44, a model and influencer from Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, had her amputation at six years old after the femur on her left leg didn’t grow. She said: “I hope our team can inspire and motivate other little girls who are amputees or have a difference to play football, too.”

Football coach Shelbée Clarke, 29, from Bedford, had her leg amputated after suffering Ewings Sarcoma cancer at 18, while microbiology PhD student Isabelle Papandronicou, 27, from East Barnet, North London, was born with a rare congenital condition where the leg fractures spontaneously.

Psychology therapist Stacey Quirk, 37, from Manchester, had her right leg amputated after an accident jumping from a lorry in April 2017 during an army training exercise. Politics student Tate Willis, 17, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was born with her left arm missing. She said: “I’ve overcome bullying – and football has helped me deal with it all. To be going to the World Cup is such an achievement.”

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