A young Swede has been a football fan from childhood, first as a spectator and later on the pitch. Then his body shoots him a life-threatening own goal. Dominic gets cancer. But the young footballer doesn’t let that get him down.
Football seems to be in the blood of 14-year-old Dominic Kramberger. At the tender age of two weeks, his parents took him to the stadium. His father lulled him to sleep by singing football.
At the age of five, Dominic moved to the field himself. However, in April 2020 in an accident during a game, the boy injured his leg. After further examinations, the shock: Dominic suffers from a particularly aggressive form of cancer. Chemotherapy followed and part of his right leg was removed. “My body was completely out of action,” says Dominic in retrospect.
But that couldn’t put an end to his football career. A prosthesis was fitted to him in April 2021 and just a few months later he represented Sweden in the initiative Football for Friendship (F4F), a Gazprom-funded program for children and young people.
Due to the pandemic, the F4F World takes place as an online tournament for girls and boys between the ages of twelve and 14. Each of these children from all over the world has their own story to tell. Like Dominic.
A hard blow – but Dominic continues
The 14-year-old is still fighting his illness. He should have survived chemotherapy by the end of September. He is happy to have been part of F4F. “It was an inspiring and fun activity, I made friends from all over the world”, says Dominic. He is a real MVP, a Most Valuable Player, so an absolutely valuable player, according to his new friends and the F4F supervisors.
Everyday life with only one leg is a daily challenge for Dominic. That couldn’t affect his motivation. “It’s hard, really hard, but I can do it”, says Dominic in an interview with Euronews.
The young Swede trains around two hours a day to exercise his muscles. “I want to be able to walk without crutches by the end of the year and then back to my team as a goalkeeper“, so Dominic.
Where does he get the strength from?
“My optimism, and that I am not giving up, comes from my family,” he explains, referring to mother, father and brother. “You have always encouraged me to do what I want and never doubt my goals. I think that comes from within, I always think I have to be the best.”
Dominic still plans to become a professional footballer. If that doesn’t work, then maybe a journalist or a referee. The idea of becoming a journalist came to him during his time at F4F. Dominic interviewed soccer star Roberto Carlos. His question to the former Brazilian player had previously been chosen from among many others by the organizers of the campaign. During a press conference, Dominic’s big moment came:
“It was so nice to talk to,” says Dominic. “I didn’t think I could do it. Then Roberto Carlos said I could come to Madrid and watch a match, I was so happy. I was speechless.”
For the fourth year in a row, the Football for Friendsip (F4F) initiative has brought young people from all over the world together so that they can share their enthusiasm for football. According to the organizers, the focus is on the values of the initiative, such as friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace and devotion to what drives the girls and boys.
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