Football has the power to provide some of life’s most memorable moments – but it has given so much more to Lionesses star Jade Moore.
“Football saved my life,” she told talkSPORT. “Without it, they wouldn’t have discovered the two holes in my heart.”
As she bids for a historic Women’s World Cup triumph with England, the Reading midfielder reveals how she might not be alive if it wasn’t for the beautiful game.
“When I went to a football development centre at 16, they did a routine cardiac screening, just to tick the medical off,” she said.
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“At that point, they found one hole in my heart and they stopped me from training that day.
“It absolutely killed me, I was like, ‘What do you mean I can’t train? I’ve been training every day of my life. Just because you’ve done a scan doesn’t mean you can stop me from training’.
“They were very adamant that I wasn’t allowed to train. I had to go to London and have another scan which confirmed I had two holes which needed instant surgery.
“Within a week I had surgery done which covered the two holes up with a device.”
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Moore was training with the junior England set-up at Loughborough University at the time.
Now 28 and playing at her second Women’s World Cup with the Lionesses, she featured in England’s 2-1 win over Scotland on Sunday.
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