Sunshine Coast Fire Under 12’s player Mackenar Bradfield relies on his feet to allow him to excel on the football pitch, but for children suffering from ‘club foot’, playing football is impossible.

Determined to make a difference, Mackenar organised a juggle-a-thon to raise money to cure children in the south-east African nation of Malawi who are afflicted with the deformity.

Mackenar’s “Juggle for Justice” campaign, supported by his Under 12 Fire teammates, was a huge success, raising more than $500 for charity Cure Mallawi, enough to provide corrective surgery for two children suffering from the debilitating condition.

Club foot, also called congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV), is a congenital deformity. Without treatment, people with club feet appear to walk on their ankles or on the sides of their feet. However with surgery, the vast majority of patients recover completely.

This debilitating birth-defect affected English national team and Liverpool club captain Steven Gerrard, who was treated at a young age and went on to become one of the best footballers in the world – making more than 400 appearances for England’s most successful football club and winning the UEFA Champions League in 2005.

Mackenar decided to raise money to help children affected by club foot after hearing about the deformity from a family friend who worked with CURE Mallawi.

“He saw how the kids who had been cured were able played a football match,” Mackenar’s mother, Annette, said.

“He said ‘well if the children who have club foot could just get an operation which only costs $250, they could play football as well’.”

“He decided raise money for CURE Mallawi and chose a juggle-a-thon so he could use his feet to help kids who can’t use their feet.”

Mackenar was joined by Nathan Foster, Joseph Higginson, Tom Whittaker, Archie Waterson and Lucas Howell in the fundraising initiative, with some of future Fire stars keeping the ball aloft for more than 300 touches during the juggle-a-thon.

Malawi is considered a minnow of world football, with the national team failing to reach the World Cup finals in nine attempts since gaining independence from Great Britain in 1964.

The developing nation of 16.5 million people is ranked 122nd by FIFA in the latest international rankings.

Words and Image: Sunshine Coast Fire