Midshire F72 – World Record Attempt

At the moment, the world record for the longest running football match is held in Holland. But, if Manchester businessman Nick Rose has anything to do with it, the title will be back on British soil before long.

We may not have won the World Cup since 1966, but Rose has big plans in store for his world record breaking attempt to stage the longest running football match in history this year.

In May 2013, the Midshire F72 marathon football match is going to take place and, you guessed it, Midshire is going to sponsor it, along with Booth Ainsworth LLP, Lexmark, Ricoh and Sharp.

Holland’s football match lasted a painful 64 hours. We can’t even imagine watching a football match that lasts that long! Nick Rose, a self-confessed football fanatic, has vowed to break the record with a target of a new 72 hour match.

A total of 36 players are going to take part, and Rose estimates that the match will last the equivalent of 48 normal matches if they reach their target. It’s expected that the winning team will score in excess of 500 goals as well, which is pretty mind-boggling.

How will the teams manage it? With a huge amount of training. If you think about the fact that footballers average around 7 miles of running per game, we can’t even begin to imagine how far the players in the F72 teams are going to have to run!

All spaces on the two teams have been filled, so say hello to your new world record breakers:

Team one: Alex Jay, Ash Scott, Chris Bone, Dave Wardle, Ed Bingham, Jake Harman, James Bentley, Joel Lawton, Jon Towers, Josh Wharton, Mark Harrison, Matt Chadbourne, Mikey Walton, Nick Boothby, Nick Rose, Paul Jay, Richard Symonds and Steve Higginson.

Team two: Aaron Coates, Andrew McIvor, Andrew Robinson, Chris Flynn, Danny Walden, James Urquhart, Lee Boneshill, Mark Snazell, Matthew Hayes, Michael Wallington, Mike Massey, Paul Burke, Paul Lee, Raz Akhtar, Rik Snorgaard, Seamus Whitehead, Sam Turner and Wayne Trowbridge.

Of course, it’s not just for the world title, F72 will also help to raise money and awareness for Francis House Children’s Hospice, a local charity. You can donate money to F72 on the official site, and all proceeds will be sent onto the charity at the end of the match.

Trafford Community Leisure Trust in Manchester is providing training facilities for the players at the moment, but the match is actually going to take place at Stretford High School.

So, whether you’re a true football enthusiast or you just want to see some history in the making, get yourself down to Stretford High School on May 2nd 2013, and don’t forget to donate!