How's this for a surprising soccer game: a team of amputee soccer players playing against the prosthetists who built their limbs.

It happened recently in central London, England.

The amputee team is the LA Spurs (that's LA as in Limbless Association, not Los Angeles), while the opposing side is the Roehampton Prosthetists.

The game was put together by James Catchpole, who organizes another amputee team based in north London.

"In a way, it reflects badly on them if we lose," Catchpole joked ahead of the match. "It will mean they haven't supplied us with good enough legs."

The two sides actually played three half-hour games back to back. And if you're wondering, the LA Spurs won two out of three games, for an aggregate score of 5-2.

Most of the Spurs players were already soccer players before they became amputees. In fact, three members of the team actually lost their limbs as a result of soccer-related injuries.

Michael Ishiguzo, for example, was a pro player in Nigeria until losing his leg due to an improperly treated fracture suffered during a game.

Although he's playing on one leg, Ishiguzo remains a skilled player with a heartfelt love of the game. And he says he's far from alone on his team.

"The quality of football in this team is top notch," Ishiguzo said. "The speed, balance, passing and agility are phenomenal."

According to Wired, the amputee players "feel a debt of gratitude to the prosthetists who helped them keep playing."

But that didn't prevent both sides from engaging a little banter before the game.

"Make sure you put the foot on the right way," Dean Heffer, an amputee player, told Andrew Rees, a prosthetist at Queen Mary Hospital in London who was helping him prepare for the match.

"No promises," Rees replied.

Playing games like this also helps publicize amputee soccer, and Heffer hopes it might inspire young people to take up the game.

"When I first lost my leg when I was eight - you know, when something like that happens to you, you think you're going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life," Heffer said. "And playing football is my life. And I just want others to do what I've done."

Amputee soccer is gaining popularity in England and around the world. According to the American Amputee Soccer site, the game was invented in the U.S., and is now played in more than 30 countries.

The last Amputee Football World Cup was held in Kaliningrad, Russia in October, 2012. Uzbekistan won the tournament. Next up is the 14th edition of the Cup, to be held in Mexico in 2014.

Via Wired

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