A football fanatic who used compensation money from a tragic accident to buy his local football club is set to hit the limelight.
‘The House That George Built’ will premier on channel TNT Sports and will feature the story of how Dowell took over as well as documenting his life at the Vanarama National League south club.
George Dowell was an ordinary teen whose life changed forever when a terrible car accident left him paralysed from the chest down at the age of just 17.
Just before his accident, Dowell, who played right-back, was on the brink of breaking into the Worthing FC first team at the age of 17.
But in April 2010, he was involved in a terrible crash on his way from training to McDonald’s that saw his friend’s car flip off the road and into a field.
He suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralysed from the chest down with limited use of his arms.
He has since taken over as Worthing Football Club owner and has even been given an MBE for his services to football and disability awareness.
He got compensation from the accident, and at the age of 22 decided to use some of his insurance payout to purchase the club in 2015, wipe their mounting debt and save them from potentially folding – something which he says gave him a “purpose in life” again.
At the age of 22, he became the owner of Worthing Football Club and used the money to invest in the club – funding a new 3G pitch and renovating the ground at Woodside Road stadium.
What is the documentary about?
The West Sussex team now play their football in the National League South, with ambitions in the short term to get into the National League.
Speaking to The Sun, Dowell said: “When we came in, we set a very ambitious plan of trying to get two promotions in five years, which is a crazy thing to do when you’re 22 with no experience.”
The documentary will show the ups and downs of owning a football club, and follow the team in their pursuit for glory.
Dowell added: “Now we are in the National League South, the highest the club’s ever been. It took seven years but only five complete seasons so I’ll take that as a win. We definitely want to get to the National League as soon as we can. We were very, very close last year.
“In the long-term, we don’t see a ceiling. We don’t see why a town as big as Worthing can’t sustain a club in the Football League. I don’t see why it can’t do that. We’re going to try and make that happen at some point.”
The documentary also tells the tale of how Dowell worked his way through life with his disability and candidly detail his relationship with his girlfriend Jessikah – including the various challenges of being an inter-able couple, from the daily practicalities to the impact on sex and conceiving.
Thanks to IVF, Dowell and Jessikah welcomed their baby daughter Bonnie into the world last November – and the new parents gave an insight into parenthood on their YouTube channel, The Wheel Life.
The Club That George Built will premiere on TNT Sports 1 at 10.30pm on Tuesday, October 1 and will be available to watch on-demand via Discovery+
