West Ham have paid a tribute to the Australian player Dylan Tombides.
Tombides is a player who sadly died with testicular cancer. A statue is also made in honour of the Australian star’s passion and talent.
Dylan Tombides’ statue will be immortalised at West Ham’s new Olympic Stadium after the announcement from the Hammers that the player will form the part of the club. Dylan’s name will also be engraved on a stone outside of the ground.
Dylan Tombides lost his life to testicular cancer in 2014 and will always be remembered by the club which is loved by him most. A similar tribute was also immortalised outside the Perth Stadium in September last year.
The statue of Dylan Tombides is showing his celebration when he saluted his mother on her birthday after goal in the U17 World Cup in Mexico, 2011.
Dylan’s family has also established an organization named DT38 foundation for awareness against cancer. All the football teams will tribute him in their football matches. The complete coverage of the football games today is provided by sports channels as a tribute to him. West Ham fans have voted to immortalise Tombides outside the Olympic Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. The Hammers team will start to play games there in the season of 2016-17, which will start in August.
Tombides was only 15 when he joined the East London club and his jersey number 38 is also retired by the club. The young player will be included in the legends list with the 1966 World Cup winning English trio Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin PeterS and alongside other notable legends of English club. He was only 20-years-old and didn’t reach to his 21st Birthday.
Two days before a World Cup qualifier, the 2.2m sculpture of Dylan was unveiled outside the Nib stadium. He battled with cancer for three years and he was diagnosed after the U17 World Cup in 2011, when a doping test uncovered the illness.
The West Ham staff are working with his family to honour his memory and helped in launching the organisation of cancer research DT38 in Australia.
The story of Tombides was announced at the park of the days when he was in the chain of treatments. The 8th March would have been his 22nd birthday and West Ham are planning a tribute for him.
