GEORGE DOWELL’S life changed forever when a terrible car accident left him paralysed from the chest down.
But after telling his mum “I want to die”, he answered his beloved local football club’s plea to rescue its future.
And now he wants to take them into the EFL for the first time in their history – with the incredible journey now documented by a TNT Sports film.
Right-back Dowell – nicknamed “Shin Crusher” thanks to his combative defending – was on the brink of breaking into the Worthing FC first team at the age of 17.
But in April 2010, he was involved in the terrible crash on his way from training to McDonald’s that saw his friend’s car flip off the road and into a field.
He suffered spinal cord injuries that left him paralysed from the chest down with limited use of his arms and was told he would never walk again, prompting his tragic and bleak comment to mum Linda.
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But while his hopes of playing for Worthing and making a career on the pitch were over, he found purpose in his life again when he answered the cash-strapped Mackerel Men’s desperate SOS call – using some of his insurance pay-out to purchase the club in 2015, wipe their mounting debt and save them from potentially folding.
Wheelchair-bound Dowell, 32, told SunSport: “I don’t have a lot of memory of the accident other than a few flashes.
“The aftermath, being told you’re not going to walk again let alone kick a ball, all that is still very raw.
“I didn’t really know what that meant for my life and didn’t hold out a great deal of hope.
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“I insured my care for the rest of my life.
“Their last resort was putting out in the local paper to try and get someone to come in and help because they were in hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt and the playing budget had been completely cut at Christmas of that season.
“So there was no money left at Worthing.
“If something didn’t change very quickly, they were going to be gone by before the end of the season probably. It was a genuine concern.
“When the club was struggling financially, that was the perfect opportunity for me to find purpose in my life.”
At the age of 22, Dowell found himself as the owner of a football club, a far cry from his days playing Football Manager, and was in charge of a boardroom of execs making big decisions.
One of his first big calls was to fund the new 3G pitch and renovate the bar at their Woodside Road stadium, both helping Worthing become more financially sustainable but also, crucially, a club for the community once more.
But those lofty ambitions of two promotions in five seasons came to pass – delayed by Covid which denied it happening even earlier – and a new leg tattoo is a constant reminder of the success.
Now the West Sussex outfit play their football in the National League South, roared on by an average 1,500 fans at each home game, a ten-fold increase from when he first rescued Worthing.
Their third-placed finish last season was the best result in the club’s history and saw them qualify for the play-offs.
A staggering 30,000 people tried to get tickets for the final against Braintree, selling out their 3,500-capacity ground, as they agonisingly missed out on promotion following a dramatic 4-3 defeat.
But while the short-term goal is to get into the National League for the first time, there is no ceiling on Dowell’s ambitions for Worthing – whose supporters chant his name and adore their hero.
Dowell added: “When we came in, we set a very ambitious plan of trying to get two promotions in five years, which is a crazy thing to do when you’re 22 with no experience.
“Now we are in the National League South, the highest the club’s ever been. It took seven years but only five complete seasons so I’ll take that as a win.
“We definitely want to get to the National League as soon as we can. We were very, very close last year.
“In the long-term, we don’t see a ceiling. We don’t see why a town as big as Worthing can’t sustain a club in the Football League. I don’t see why it can’t do that.
“We’re going to try and make that happen at some point.
“I’ll always be a fan and I want to be involved as long as I possibly can be but I’ll never overstay my welcome.
“I’m sure that at some point the club will get to a point whereby it needs a lot more investment and it will need a lot more money to climb the league. I’d never ever stand in the club’s way of progressing.”
Dowell’s impact has not gone unnoticed.
As well as the recognition from Worthing’s passionate fans and now the TNT Sports cameras, he was also invited on to TV show The Undateables and even received an MBE for his services to football and disability awareness.
He said: “The MBE, I never thought in my wildest dreams that would happen in my lifetime. That was very weird. I thought it was a scam when I first got the email about it.
“When The Undateables first got in touch, I wasn’t really interested in going on or looking for love but they thought that mine would be a really good story to tell.
“I’m really glad I did it. I was in a rut, it gave me confidence I could find love and that I don’t have to be as scared.”
At the time of my injury, I thought I’m never going to be a dad, never going to achieve much in my life.
George Dowell
It was through his appearance on telly that he inadvertently met girlfriend Jessikah, who added him on social media after watching the programme.
The documentary candidly details their relationship including the various challenges of being an inter-able couple from the daily practicalities to the impact on sex and conceiving.
But thanks to IVF, George and Jessikah welcomed their baby daughter Bonnie into the world last November – and the new parents give an insight into parenthood on their YouTube channel, The Wheel Life.
Dowell explained: “If Jessikah had never seen that show, we wouldn’t have started chatting and wouldn’t be as happy as we are now with baby Bonnie who’s ten months old.
“I really loved being a dad and really love our little family.
“At the time of my injury, I thought I’m never going to be a dad, never going to achieve much in my life.
“It goes to show you there is still plenty you can achieve post-injury and there’s no reason why, if you’re passionate about something, you can’t make it happen.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
It is fair to say George saved Worthing – but Dowell himself will be the first to admit that Worthing also saved George.
- The Club That George Built premieres on TNT Sports 1 at 22:30 on 1st October 2024 and will be available to watch on-demand via discovery+
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
