England’s Kobbie Mainoo has helped London Marathon hero Jordan Adams achieve a ‘real bucket list moment’ by gifting him tickets to Wednesday night’s semi-final clash in Atlanta.
Adams, 31, has spent years raising awareness for Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) after he lost his mother to the disease 10 years ago, when she was just 52.
Jordan and his brother, Cian, who are known together as the FTD Brothers, have gained national attention thanks to their sensational fundraising efforts.
In May, they completed an astonishing 33 marathons in 33 days, with the first being the London Marathon, which Jordan ran with a 25kg fridge on his back.
The brothers, from Redditch, Worcestershire, have raised almost £2million so far for various charities, including the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, in honour of their mother, Geraldine.
Eight years ago, Jordan found out that he carried the same gene as his mother, meaning he would certainly develop the disease, most likely in his 40s.
Mainoo gave a ticket to Adams after seeing his plea on social media for the Argentina game
Adams with his mother Geraldine before her premature death aged just 52
Jordan took to social media to express his dream of seeing England play in the semi-final of the World Cup. He said: ‘I have 32 hours to fulfil a lifelong dream. Eight years ago, I was given a terminal prognosis which means that I’m going to get the same FTD that took my mum and 12 relatives.
‘Since then I’ve made my life as a full-time advocate, but I’ve also tried to live as freely as possible and jump at opportunities. It would be a real bucket list moment to go to England vs Argentina in Atlanta.
‘Let’s test the power of social media and see if I can get a ticket to the game.’
Manchester United star Mainoo quickly responded to the post with a simple message: ‘I’ve got you brother’.
Mainoo arranged tickets for Jordan, helping him achieve his ‘bucket list moment’ in Atlanta. In a post on Instagram, Jordan said: ‘To be quite honest I’m quite speechless.
‘I can’t believe that a current England player in the squad here at the World Cup would show that level of kindness so thank you to Kobbie for that, that is absolutely unbelievable.’
Jordan also revealed that FIFA has since reached out and offered him the chance to be a special guest at the high-stakes Atlanta Stadium clash. He will be collaborating with FIFA on a post to spread more awareness about FTD and his journey with the disease.
This could be a chance to shed light on the ongoing discussion about a possible increased dementia risk in elite football players due to repeated high-impact headers.
Adams and his brother Cian have spent years raising awareness for Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)
Alzheimer’s Research UK revealed: ‘Experts have suggested years of repeated heading likely contributed to CTE [a rare cause of dementia] in players who had the disease when they died, including Jeff Astle, Nobby Stiles and Gordon McQueen.’
Jordan said that the collaboration with FIFA is an opportunity to ‘advocate for people all over the world living with dementia, those who haven’t got the right support, those who haven’t got a diagnosis, and those of us who desperately need a treatment or a cure in the future.
‘When I can, I’ll just make sure to pay this kindness forward. Thanks to everyone in this amazing community who has shared this post and is bringing alive the dream that I’ve had for years, since I was a little boy.’
Kobbie Mainoo has not yet played a single minute at the World Cup, despite being called up to the squad by Thomas Tuchel, but the 21-year-old midfielder has left his mark on the tournament with his incredible act of kindness.
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