Adelaide has dedicated its only 2017 SANFL home game to support Australian Olympic BMX rider Sam Willoughby’s recovery from a serious spinal injury.

The first SANFL Showdown of the season against Port Adelaide in Round Four will be a special event to raise funds and rally support for Willoughby, who is a passionate Crows Ambassador and a long-time friend of the Club.

The Club will host a range of fundraising initiatives in the lead-up to the match, which will be held at Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval on Saturday, April 29, as well as donating all gate takings to Willoughby’s ‘Road 2 Recovery’ fund.

The 25-year-old South Australian is currently undergoing rehabilitation in America after fracturing multiple vertebrae in a freak training accident in September.

The courageous Willoughby remains in a wheelchair, but is determined to walk his fiancé Alise Post down the aisle when the couple marry in April next year.

Adelaide has previously used its sole home game of each SANFL season to visit regional South Australian communities, with previous visits to Clare, Balaklava and Mannum.

The Club will instead play as the ‘away’ team at Encounter Bay in Round Two against South Adelaide and is likely to visit Bordertown to confront Glenelg in Round 15.

See Adelaide’s full 2017 SANFL fixture

Adelaide would like to acknowledge both the Port Adelaide and Woodville-West Torrens Football Clubs for their cooperation in arranging the initiative.