Worthing owner George Dowell believes owning the club ‘saved him’ following a horror car crash which left him in a wheelchair.
Dowell was paralysed from the chest down after suffering from serious spinal injuries following a car crash in April 2010.
The former Worthing youth team player spent 10 months in a spinal treatment centre following the crash, where he had been the passenger in the front seat of the car.
Dowell, then 17, used some of his compensation payout to buy his financially stricken hometown club, who were nearly £200,000 in debt.
Worthing have enjoyed two promotions since Dowell became the club’s majority shareholder in 2015, with the National League South side set to feature in the FA Cup first round for the first time since 1999.
George Dowell invested in Worthing with money he received from a compensation payout
Dowell was left paralysed from the chest down following a car crash back in April 2010
Worthing are set to play in the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1999
Dowell told the BBC that while he was credited with saving the club from the risk of folding, the club ‘saved me’.
‘I read an article in the paper that stated they were in real trouble and just weeks away from folding all together,’ Dowell said.
‘After asking questions to people at the club I thought this would be something I’d love to get involved with, and a great opportunity for me to get back into football in a different way.
‘I had no experience of running a business, I was just a mad football fan,’ he said.
‘In the early days it was quite stressful but you learn quickly. It pulled me out of my shell.’
Dowell will miss the FA Cup tie with his girlfriend Jessica due to give birth to their first child
Worthing will bid to make the FA Cup second round when they face National League North side Alfreton Town on Saturday.
Adam Hinshelwood’s side will travel to their follow non-League opponents for the first round tie.
Dowell told the BBC he was forced to choose between the attending the match or being present for the birth of his first child with his girlfriend Jessica.
The 31-year-old revealed he had arranged for a live stream of the match, admitting he could not miss the birth.
