GEORGE DOWELL must choose between two dreams.
The Worthing owner saved the club with a payout from a crash that paralysed him – but they face an historic FA Cup trip on the day his girlfriend gives birth to their first child.
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The part-timers travel 205 miles to fellow fifth-tier side Alfreton this Saturday after reaching the first round for the first time in 24 years.
At the same time George’s partner Jessica is due to give birth in Worthing.
The ex-footballer, 31, was 17 and close to making the Sussex club’s first team when, as a front-seat passenger in a car accident, he suffered spinal injuries that paralysed him from the neck down.
Five years later he bought the club as they were £200,000 in debt and fearing extinction, as explained by SunSport.
Now he’s not only one of the youngest club owners in the land, he’s that equally rare thing – one who is loved by the fans.
Dowell, who has used a wheelchair since the crash in 2010, told the BBC: “As much as I saved the club, the club saved me.”
And what of his choice between what should be two joyous occasions.
He said: “I can’t miss the birth.
“I’ve arranged for a live stream so I can watch it on my laptop back in Worthing.”
His club are eighth in National League South, while Alfreton are fifth in NL North.
So whatever the result of what could be a tight contest on Saturday, Dowell could yet take Worthing up this season – to within just one level of from the EFL.
And as he approaches a momentous weekend, he said of his life in general: “There are plenty of opportunities out there. You’ve just got to look for them and have a crack at it.”
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