Footballer heartbroken over MND diagnosis

Stacy Whittle, 37, was diagnosed with the condition in July after developing symptoms in 2024

A woman who has played football since she was a child is calling for more research into potential links between the sport and motor neurone disease (MND).

Stacy Whittle, 37, from Worcester, was diagnosed with MND in July 2025 having started to experience symptoms last September.

Ms Whittle began with neck pain and an inability to raise her arms above her head, and later her breathing became laboured.

She can no longer walk and uses a ventilator at night, and said it was heartbreaking to know she would not be around to see her two children grow up.

Ms Whittle started playing football aged eight, including for West Bromwich Albion when she was 16 as well as several local teams, and only stopped playing in the season before she was diagnosed.

"More and more sporty people and younger people are being diagnosed with it, and to me it seems like there might be a link," she said, stressing the need for fundraising for more research to find a cure or treatment.

MND is a degenerative condition that affects the brain and spinal cord.

"No family should have to go through what we are... we're trying to get through every day."

Given that her children, aged 11 and 16, play football and rugby, Ms Whittle said they had discussed whether she would have played football had she known she might get MND in the future.

"I said I wouldn't change it, as growing up playing football are some of the best memories that I have, and I absolutely love it.

"It's just unbelievable that this is happening to me, I'm only 37, my boys are so young.

"It's hard to deal with the fact that I'm not going to be there for them growing up, it's heartbreaking."

Kat Webster has played alongside Stacy Whittle since they were young teenagers

Players from her club, Areley Kings Ladies FC in Kidderminster, set themselves a challenge of covering 2,000 miles in October through walking, cycling, running and swimming with an aim to raise £2,000 for the MND Association.

Team-mate Kat Webster said the MND diagnosis had been devastating for Ms Whittle and her family, and they had wanted to do something positive, and raise money and awareness for the charity.