She lost a leg to cancer. Now she wants to spread the joy of amputee football across Barcelona

After losing a leg to cancer, Suzan Beers was determined not to lose football as well. 

As such, the Dutch woman living in Barcelona since 2019 is launching a new project to encourage other people with reduced mobility to get into amputee football, so she and they can continue to enjoy the sport they love while making new connections and building a community. 

This Sunday, October 19, a group of ten amputee footballers will kick off for the first time as part of the initiative, with the aim of making the pick-up games a monthly ritual. This weekend’s game will take place at the Meiland camp in the neighbourhood of Horta. 

In fact, Beers wants to expand the group to playing every two weeks, alternating between a reduced mobility game, i.e. a match among amputees, and a mixed game, i.e. with the participation of able-bodied enthusiasts on crutches. 

The Dutch woman hopes to make the group as large and inclusive as possible, so she’s in contact with health centres, hospitals, physios, foundations, and sports centers across the metropolitan area to spread the word about her new pick-up game, inviting anybody with reduced mobility to join. 

Thanks to crowdfunding, which Beers has already undertaken, the games will be free to join, with crutches, shirts, and the pitch all provided by the organizers. 

The inclusive football project is being organized through a new app for people in Barcelona looking to play football, Vaya, which was founded by Brit Hermans, a personal friend of Suzan Beers. Vaya isn't just for amputee football, however, but rather for finding any type of football game throughout the Catalan capital, any day of the week.

“It's for men and women that can run with crutches, that are missing either an upper leg, lower leg, or foot,” Beers tells Catalan News. “The keepers are missing either hand, a part of the arm, or full arm, although we also welcome people with other diseases or other disabilities.” 

The first game, on Sunday, October 19 at 12 noon at Meiland Camp in Horta (Carrer de la Maternitat d'Elna 1), will be contested among ten players, but all are invited to come and enjoy snacks and drinks at the event, get to know others playing the game, and perhaps find out more information for any prospective players interested in joining.

Players can sign up via info@vaya-sports.com and the organizers will add them to the game.

Association

Beers is currently seeking sponsorships to continue paying for the cost of the field, while she is also considering establishing an official association to facilitate collaborations with other organizations. 

She is already in contact with the Johan Cruyff Foundation, who are offering advice on how to “professionalize” the group, to help it be more “sustainable.” 

“I really want to create this community,” Beers says. “I really want to give all amputees, but also people with other physical challenges in Barcelona, the possibility to play football every week.”

After overcoming some of the most difficult challenges anyone could face, Suzan Beers has come out the other side with a clearer idea of her own life passions. “I didn't realize it before, but now I know that I'm a connector, and football unites, football connects people, that's why I love the sport so much,” she says. 

“I’m currently on sick leave because they operated on me a couple of weeks ago because of the lung cancer, so of course, I don't have all the energy in the world to set up this project, but I visit lots of hospitals and physiotherapists and specialists. I go with my flyers and inform them about it, and everybody's super enthusiastic about the project.”

Amputee football 

Beers has been playing football since she was 10 years old. For her, amputee football is just a natural continuation of that passion, although she is in a unique position to notice the differences between the mechanics of the sport in the two different codes. 

The Dutch woman grew up intuitively understanding the importance of body shape and position when performing certain actions during a match, such as taking a shot or preparing to control a pass. These fundamental elements of the game are played out quite differently when the player has to support their body weight on crutches. 

“You have to place your crutches in a certain position. Because for your balance, you need to bend over the ball a bit, and you don't have your other leg to give you the counterweight,” she explains. “It's super hard.”

Players also have to choose among different styles of crutches which suits them best. “You have crutches that are open, and others that are actually closed around your upper arm; it depends on the player.” 

“Other than that, it's pretty much the same as indoor football, and it's really fast.”

Personal story 

Beers moved to Barcelona in January 2019, and her first child was born in December 2020 amid strict pandemic lockdown rules. In April the following year, feeling some knee pain, she went to a doctor, who told her it was just runner's knee. However, she was soon diagnosed with osteosarcoma and had to start chemotherapy. 

Her first major surgery took place in September 2021, when an internal prosthetic was inserted into part of her leg. This was soon followed by more rounds of chemotherapy, another surgery, and radiotherapy. 

This early period of her cancer fight was a very “lonely” time for Suzan Beers, as Covid lockdown measures meant that her husband and daughter couldn’t visit her in hospital for long stretches. 

However, two relatively calm years followed, during which time her second child was born, but just months later, three more tumors were found in her leg, meaning it had to be amputated in October 2024. 

In June of this year, a metastasis of the same cancer appeared in her lungs, requiring another operation. 

Most recently, the latest scans this month appear to show that all is well, and Beers is now more than ready to get back to the football pitch and share her passion for the sport with a new community of friends who, until now, may not have known of the possibilities out there for them.