Dominic Kramberger, 14 y.o., Sweden: “I am grateful to be able to play football again soon”
Football for Friendship is a programme, that unites people all over the world, who have one big passion – football. But behind every Young Participant there is a life story. Here is the story of Dominic Kramberger from Sweden, the 14 years old boy, participant of the Ninth Season, that is definitely worth to be told.
From the day when I was born my dad used to play with me with a ball, even when I was lying on my back in the crib. When he put me to sleep, he sang football songs. When I was four, my dad put me in a football team of the village we live. He told me that there are only three teams that I could support: Liverpool, Malmö FF and Maribor. In our family, we schedule our lives to follow every match of these teams. Football is a great tradition that unites us.
I have always wanted to be a football star and, therefore, always followed big stars, analyzed how they move and behave on and off the field. Moreover, I follow Malmö FF live during all their home and some away matches. There I get some inspiration on playing football professionally and learn how to be friendly with teammates, opponents, referees and spectators, what seems to be important to me.
In April 2020, I played a football match and sprained my foot. About three weeks later I also got a kick in the same place. After that, I was still training and trying to do some special exercises to strengthen the ankle. In June we realized that the rehab did not reduce the bulge. We went to the hospital to check it out. The doctor who examined me quickly decided that it actually was not a sprain. They wanted me to go for an X-ray. In mid-July, we were informed that I had cancer, a diagnosis called BCOR, which is an aggressive form of the Ewing sarcoma family.
In August, I started six-month chemotherapy treatment, which was followed by the operation where my right lower leg was amputated. Stem cells should have been removed from my body. On the seventh of January 2021, the operation was performed and was successful and everything healed fine. However later the pathologist found out that a little more than ten percent cancer cells remained. That made a high-dose treatment necessary. After it, my body was completely knocked out. Later, I had a stem cell transplantation.
I got my lower leg prosthesis in the middle of April. Right now, I am in rehab: I train about two hours a day to strengthen my thigh muscles to be able to walk without crutches. Since there is no guarantee that there are no cancer cells left in my body, I have to take chemotherapy in a tablet form for six months. I expect to finish all the procedures by the end of September.
The disease did not change my madness for football. However, I haven`t played the game for a long time. Anyway, I hope to be back on the field and to be a goalkeeper instead of being a player. I have accepted how the cancer has changed my life but I am grateful to be able to play football again soon. This is my goal now.
My dream is to go to Liverpool which is my favorite team and to be a part of the Allison Becker trains and plays. To get his knowledge face to face sounds fun.
I decided to participate in the Football for Friendship programme because this is a great chance to win different prizes and meet new friends from all around the world. Of course, the role of the football player appeals to me the most as this is what I love.
I want to learn English and play as a goalkeeper in the Championship. This can strengthen me personally and professionally. I would also like to know how a global international organization operates, I guess, the F4F can possibly show me a bit of background.
