England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has gifted tickets to the World Cup semi-final against Argentina to Jordan Adams, a London Marathon runner who has raised nearly £2 million for dementia charities.
Fundraising hero's plea answered
Adams, 31, from Redditch in Worcestershire, is one half of the FTD Brothers. He and his sibling Cian have gained national attention for their fundraising efforts after losing their mother Geraldine to Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) in 2016 at age 52. The brothers later discovered they carry the same gene, giving them a 99.9% chance of developing the disease in their 40s.
In May, the pair ran 33 marathons in 33 days, starting with the London Marathon which Jordan completed carrying a 25kg fridge on his back. They then ran events in all 32 Irish counties to honour their mother's roots, raising almost £2 million for charities including the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.
Social media plea leads to Mainoo's offer
Earlier this week, Adams set off to the US and posted a plea on social media for tickets to the semi-final. He said: "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."
England star Kobbie Mainoo responded with the message: "I've got you brother" - leaving Jordan "speechless". In a second Instagram post, Adams said: "I've finally arrived in Atlanta ahead of the World Cup semi-final and I'm glad to say I have got a ticket. None other than Kobbie Mainoo reached out and offered me a ticket to the game. 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."
FIFA collaboration
Adams also revealed that FIFA had offered him the chance to be a special guest at the match and would collaborate with him to spread awareness about FTD. He said the collaboration 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."
