Houston veteran on representing U.S. at Amputee Soccer World Cup: 'I couldn't be more proud of this journey'

Houston veteran Robert Ferguson will be representing the country in a different way as a member of Team USA in the 2022 Amputee Soccer World Cup, per a report from Houston ABC affiliate KTRK.

The station reported that Ferguson will compete in a country that’s familiar to him – Turkey – and he brims with confidence just thinking about it. 

Ferguson was based in the Eurasian nation’s Incirlik Air Base where he launched aircraft.

According to KTRK, he underwent the amputation of his leg after a training exercise at Fort Hood.

It would turn out to be a blessing in disguise since it was how Ferguson discovered amputee soccer.

"It's starting to hit, and I'm starting to get warm inside, and a little nervous," the veteran told the station. "I couldn't be more proud of this journey. Because of my journey, I've given other people from Texas the ability to take that journey and become members of the U.S. national team."

Wanting to help fellow amputees like himself, Ferguson founded the Lone Star Adaptive program.

"We work on the whole person," he said, KTRK reported. "We work on the mind, the body and the spirit, and teach these kids they are not their injury."

Ferguson encourages all athletes living with limb differences to be themselves.

"Be proud of who we are, and show them we are just as strong as anyone else … Because we do it with less,” he said, according to KTRK.

The station reported that the 14-strong American roster consists of six Lone Star Adaptive Soccer members, of which Ferguson is extremely proud.

The 43-year-old told KTRK that the international competition will be his final one as a player.

Per the team’s Facebook page, Ferguson hails from the North Texas city of Dean and is listed as a defenseman.

He assists veterans with training their dogs to be service animals, and as of last month, was planning a 135-mile kayak trip on the Colorado River for veteran suicide awareness.

According to the American Amputee Soccer Association’s (AASA) website, the U.S. is among the 24 countries fielding teams vying for what the nonprofit organization described as “the biggest prize in worldwide amputee soccer.”

The Amputee Soccer World Cup will be held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9.