12-year-old boy heading to British Transplant Games
It will be the third time Albie has competed in the Games since undergoing a life-saving transplant after suffering acute liver failure in 2021.
Albie, who has always been sporty, will be taking part in the tennis, table tennis, football and athletics competitions and will be joined by his mum and three brothers for the donor run, a huge celebration of the gift of organ donation.
The event has become a fixture in the family's calendar since Albie received his liver transplant.
His mother Verity said: 'It gives us a chance to celebrate him and how brave he is.
'He gets to be with other children who take the same immunosuppressant medication, who have to deal with hospitals and tests on a regular basis and who all have massive scars.
"He's no longer the odd one out, like he is in his everyday life.
"It's great for me as a parent and his brothers to be with other parents and siblings who have to care for a transplanted child, to share stories and advice.
"And it's really encouraging for me to see older children and adults who have gone on to lead a normal healthy life after a liver transplant.
'We'll also get to catch up with the team from Children's Liver Disease Foundation who have provided us with information and support since Albie received his transplant. It's important in these situations to know that you're not alone.'
Michelle Wilkins, head of children's and families services at Children's Liver Disease Foundation, said: 'The Transplant Games is a wonderful example of what organ donation really means.
'We're really looking forward to catching up with families we have supported over many years and seeing the fantastic progress their children have made.
"We know how much Albie loves his sport, so we have high hopes we'll be celebrating some medals!'
Children's Liver Disease Foundation, which has now merged with the British Liver Trust, provides services to children and adults with liver disease by providing support services, information, and research funding.
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The 2021-22 financial year was the first time the club posted a positive annual profit in 12 years. 'My job was to make the club more stable, to recreate the identity, to develop young players and to help the coaches to do their job,' Boldt said. 'I'm not there anymore, but it's the same team, and this project together was four years in the making — and we can now see the output from their efforts.' Now, the structure of the club is in a far stronger position after securing a return to the Bundesliga this season following six seasons out of the top flight. Last year saw the club record a financial profit for the third year in a row, with its Volksparkstadion stadium debts paid off two years ahead of schedule. While Boldt was not the one holding the purse strings, Hamburg's financial landscape meant he had to be skilful in ensuring the club operated within its means when buying and selling players. Advertisement 'To have success, you have to be one step ahead. Sometimes, you need to let young players go to another club and give them space to develop (elsewhere) — but in football, nobody sees this as success because you're often linked to how many titles you won,' he says. 'For a sporting director or executive, we are responsible for the strategy and the vision of the club. I understand that you need results, but Hamburg is more stable than ever before, with less debt than ever before. If we had been promoted immediately (back to the Bundesliga), it would have likely been a disaster because the club was unstable, but now the base is so much stronger than the years before. That is success for me.' Stability should be synonymous with the role. It might sound obvious, but a sporting director needs to be in the position for the long term to implement such stability, which has not always been the case among some Premier League sides. Ashworth left Newcastle United before his short-lived stint at Manchester United, with his replacement Paul Mitchell announced that he was also parting company with Newcastle last month after less than a year in the role — leaving the club with the task of appointing their third sporting director in rapid succession. Liverpool's appointment of Hughes brought stability to the club last summer after a disruptive 18 months that saw Jorg Schmadtke hired on a short-term contract following the departure of previous sporting director Julian Ward — who had only replaced Michael Edwards a year before. Had a long-term sporting director been in place, the public contract sagas involving Van Dijk, Salah and Alexander-Arnold might have been handled differently. The common thread is that nothing is ever guaranteed on the pitch, but the good sporting directors will find a way to control the controllable and give the club long-term improvement, regardless of short-term ups and downs. 'All I can do is try and increase the chance of success,' says Spors. 'As a sporting director, we can do much more than just sign players or a coach. We can build the culture. We can make sure every department is on the best level and is pushing to the next level.' 'Getting three points on a Saturday is just the result of all the work that sits behind it.'
