The NRL will throw the ‘world’s biggest birthday party’ for Jai Arrow as the league starts making good on its promise to back the Souths star to the hilt as he battles motor neurone disease.
Arrow, 30, revealed his diagnosis on May 20 and is currently receiving treatment at a health centre in Spain.
Now the NRL will ask fans to make donations instead of bringing presents to mark Arrow’s birthday on July 12, when his Rabbitohs play Newcastle.
The league has also green-lit a proposal to create ‘Jai July’, a month-long fundraising effort to support the former Queensland State of Origin star.
‘We will throw the biggest birthday party in the world,’ NRL supremo Peter V’landys said on Wednesday.
‘It will be a huge occasion with the whole game involved.
The NRL is organising a month of fundraising to support Jai Arrow (pictured), including holding the ‘world’s biggest birthday party’ for him on July 12
Arrow (pictured with fiancée Berina and daughter Ayla) shocked the footy world when he revealed his motor neurone disease diagnosis on May 20
‘Don’t bring presents. Bring a donation.
‘This is a classic case of the game uniting behind our own.
‘We are a family … We have our differences in rugby league, but we never have our differences when one of our own needs help.’
The South Sydney club and Rugby League Players’ Association have both been involved in the birthday initiative and ‘Jai July’.
Souths will also pay tribute to Arrow’s career when they play the Broncos at home next Thursday night.
The Bunnies will also hold a series of fundraising events.
On Wednesday, Arrow – who has a one-year-old daughter Ayla with fiancée Berina Colakovic – posted a video showing him wearing a breathing apparatus and having his pulse taken while he undergoes treatment in Spain.
He went to Europe in the hope of accessing treatment options not widely available in Australia, and checked into the SHA Spain health optimisation clinic.
On Wednesday, Arrow posted a clip (pictured) showing him receiving treatment at a health centre in Spain
The 30-year-old Souths star (pictured with his daughter) has said he is looking forward to coming home to Australia and ‘getting stuck into this bastard’
‘It’s the first step for me to mentally prepare for what is going to be a pretty hefty battle,’ Arrow said.
‘I’ll be doing everything – hyperbaric chamber, diet, exercise. I am really looking forward to getting over there, learning and then coming home and getting stuck into this bastard.
‘I’m going to get away from reality for a bit and then I’ll come home and face the music.
‘It was hard (to say bye to Berina and Ayla) but I’m only going for a week. Having MND can be a bit confronting for her, but she understands and I’ll be home soon.
‘I want to help find a cure and inspire people.
‘I’m going over there to get ready to fight for my life.’
MND is a progressive neurological condition that damages the nerve cells that control movement, causing muscles to gradually weaken and waste away.
As the disease advances, it can affect a person’s ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe, although it does not usually affect intelligence or awareness.
