The Socceroos have donated $15,000 to Transplant Australia Football Club (TAFC) through the players’ Community Impact Fund.
The donation reinforces the players’ commitment to using football as a platform for good, and to drive awareness of organ and tissue donation and its life-saving impact.
The contribution, made through Professional Footballers Australia’s (PFA) Community Impact Fund, will support TAFC’s ongoing programs, including the Club’s participation in September’s 2026 Transplant Football World Cup in Frankfurt.
Socceroos Riley McGree and Cam Burgess presented the donation at Australia’s training session at Leichhardt Oval on Tuesday evening to representatives of TAFC, highlighting the playing group’s commitment to causes that extend beyond the pitch.
The latest contribution builds on the players’ ongoing support of TAFC, following a $10,000 player donation in 2024 that assisted the Club’s participation at the Transplant World Cup campaign in Cervia, Italy.
Importantly, the partnership between the players and TAFC will be marked by a longer-term agreement through the PFA, focused on raising awareness of organ and tissue donation and amplifying TAFC’s work through the profile of the national team, and the PFA’s Community Impact Fund.
Transplant recipients Brendan Ryland (heart transplant), Rebekah Lord (kidney recipient), John Dixon (kidney recipient), and Aidan Neale (liver recipient) were on hand to receive the donation, alongside Transplant Australia CEO, Chris Thomas.
“The Socceroos are an amazing team, and the PFA is doing an amazing job on and off the pitch,” Thomas said. “Transplant Australia is so thankful that the contribution is going to help our team get to the Transplant Football World Cup in Germany in September.
“It’s a real tangible contribution to helping people who, by all rights, shouldn’t be here, but through the gift of life, they are given the opportunity to live again, and we are celebrating that through their prowess on the football field and we’re hoping that Australia can bring home gold in Germany later this year.”
Brendan Ryland, a heart transplant recipient 11 years ago, said that football had given him a new environment to regain confidence, identity, and fitness after his transplant.
“I found my way into football as a kid, and that was taken away from me,” Ryland said.
“Getting back into football and finding Transplant Australia Football Club was a really exciting moment, it’s a great club for people who want to get back into sport after a transplant, it’s a really welcoming environment, really fun place to meet new people and hear people’s stories and feel really welcome, it’s a wonderful place to be.”
“I was there for the inaugural Transplant World Cup in Italy [in 2024], it was an amazing group of athletes, a really amazing opportunity to represent our country, represent our donors, represent our families, everyone that supported us.”
Riley McGree said the donation reflects the players’ desire to create meaningful impact off the field.
“Through the players and the PFA to support a cause like this [we are] grateful we are to be able to give this opportunity and donate this kind of money to people to help them out, it’s a huge honour,” McGree said.
“It is really touching, it honestly gives you goosebumps, and it puts into perspective how precious life is.”
Rebekah Lord received a kidney transplant in March 2025, after being diagnosed with kidney failure.
“I’m so very grateful to get the opportunity to represent Australia in Germany in the World Cup,” Lord said. “Competing against the best of the best in the world, but also [with and against] those who have powerful stories about organ donation and the chance of life.
“It’s a great way to get everybody involved, women and men, and I’m absolutely looking forward to it.”
The PFA Community Impact Fund, recently rebranded from the Footballers’ Trust, aggregates contributions from professional footballers, including the Socceroos, Matildas and A-Leagues players, and reinvests them into community initiatives aligned with player values. The donation forms part of the Socceroos’ broader commitment to community engagement, with players continuing to champion initiatives that deliver lasting social impact.
TAFC brings together transplant recipients, living donors, donor families and supporters, providing a safe and inclusive environment for participants to return to football while advocating for greater awareness of organ and tissue donation. Through the game, the club shares powerful personal stories that encourage more Australians to consider registering as organ donors.
The PFA Community Impact Fund has supported a wide range of programs across health, inclusion and community development, including disability football, anti-racism education, LGBTI+ inclusion and humanitarian initiatives, providing players with a collective mechanism to give back to causes they care about.
To register as an organ and tissue donor, visit www.donatelife.gov.au and tell your family about your decision.
About Transplant Australia
Transplant Australia’s mission is to be a strong advocate for best practice in the organ and tissue donation sector, to promote its life saving benefits to governments and the Australian public and to provide all those touched by transplantation with support, education and guidance to improve their health, quality of life and well-being.
About Transplant Australia Football Club
The Transplant Australia Football Club was one of the first in the world to embrace the ‘beautiful game’ for transplant recipients, living donors and donor families.
Our aim is to raise awareness for the need of organ and tissue donation in Australia and also to highlight the positive lifestyles that can be achieved with the gift of life, by participating in one of the world’s most loved sports.
