Charity match to be held for Doncaster footballer with life-changing injuries

23-year-old Doncaster-born Tadcaster Albion midfielder Sam Kitchen, who previously played for Rossington Main, has been left unable to walk following the incident in March and faces a long road to recovery after suffering a series of fractures and being placed in an induced coma.

More than £30,000 has already been raised and now Tadcaster and Rossington will face each other in a charity match on July 20 to raise even more funds.

The game will take place from 1pm at Rossington’s Oxford Street ground and will feature a string of footballers including Glynn Snodin, Adi Moses, Ricky Ravenhill, Paddy Kenny, Mark Barnard, Danny Schofield, Ryan Creswell, Tom Newey, Gary Lee, John McGrath and Ryan Taylor all confirmed so far.

Entry is £5 for all.

Sam’s mum Nicola has set up a GoFundMe page to help with his recovery – which you can donate to HERE – and cash for the campaign has been flooding in.

In an update, she said: “Wow – we never thought we would reach our initial target of £15k and are completely blown away by the support for Sam.

"Thank you so so much

"We have decided to increase his fundraising target in the hope that this will enable us to pay for him to attend the specialist neurological rehab centre for six months.

"This includes specialist physiotherapy, advanced rehabilitation technology and hydrotherapy pool sessions that are extremely beneficial for his spinal cord injury.

"If we manage to hit the target then we are also looking at Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) to help speed up his healing and recovery.

"All monies raised for Sam will go directly towards this and help him gain his mobility and independence.”

Earlier this year, on the page, she wrote: “Our son, Sam – also known as Kitch - is a lovely, caring, intelligent and outgoing 23-year-old, who is a keen footballer and all round sportsman.

"On the 9 March 2025, his world turned upside down when he had a traumatic accident and was rushed to hospital with three broken vertebrae to his neck and back and fractures to his shoulder, sternum, rib cage, elbow and pelvis.

"He also suffered lacerations to his kidney and spleen.

"After spending a week in an induced coma to stop the internal bleeding, he was then operated on a total of three times to try and stabilise his fractured vertebrae.

"Unfortunately, the broken vertebrae in his back led to T6 level incomplete spinal cord injury which has resulted in him losing the motor function in his legs.

“As you can appreciate this is devastating news for anyone to hear, let alone a young athletic man with the rest of his life ahead of him but his sheer strength, determination and positive attitude has been nothing short of admirable.”

Before his accident, Sam played semi-professional football for Tadcaster Albion and previously Rossington Main FC.

She added: “Sam has grown up loving football, supporting Liverpool FC and playing academy football at Barnsley FC and Doncaster Rovers since the age of eight.

"After leaving school at 16, he then went onto do a football scholarship at Queen Ethelburga’s College in York after which he chose Loughborough University to study Economics and also captained their university football team.

“We are committed to ensuring that Sam has the best chance for recovery and the opportunity to pursue his dreams. All funds raised here will go directly towards the physiotherapy and intensive rehabilitation needed to help Sam in his recovery to hopefully walk again.

"We are also planning to do a few fundraising events over the next few months.

“Your donations will make a massive difference in helping Sam to rebuild his life and regain his independence. Thank you in advance for your kind generosity and support.”

She later added: “We are overwhelmed with the love and support shown for Sam in such a short space of time. From the bottom of our hearts thank you to everyone who has donated so far and we will keep you updated on his progress.”

Following the incident, Tadcaster Albion posted: “Tadcaster Albion would like to wish Sam Kitchen all the very best after an accident on Saturday 8 March.

"We are looking forward to seeing Sam’s friendly face again soon and supporting him with his recovery.

"Everyone at the club sends our love and best wishes, especially his fellow players and the management team.”