Players at a Carlisle-based fat fighting football club have lost 52 stones in weight between them since the club started 16 months ago.
Man v Fat, who meet at Carlisle Campus Sports, Harraby, have been celebrating their achievements on and off the pitch at their second awards ceremony.
The club, which meets on Mondays, has seen 100 men join up since it started in September 2021, growing it from four to six teams.
Those men who have since reached their target weight and have got fitter have now set up a separate 11-a-side club.
A ceremony last week saw 15 awards given out. The season-ending cup went to the Inter Piami Whites as they lost most on the scales and were the top team losers with four-and-a-half stones lost between them.
Other team winners included the Wolfsaburger Greens, who won the Season 4 League Trophy and runners-up Piezer Chief Oranges. Referee Lee Tedford also received a national award in recognition of his support for the club.
Winners also included goalkeeper Dan Jackson, the youngest player at 19, who, having joined May this year, has lost just over a stone in weight; Shane Statter, 37, who has a heart transplant, who has lost a stone and 10 pounds since joining in March this year, John Nicol, a founding player from the launch of the club in September 2021, who has now lost a stone and nine pounds – more than 10 per cent of his original body weight.
Players in the club come have a wide range of occupations including a carer, a chef, a fire commander, teachers, police, wagon drivers, communication officers, storemen, and a care home manager.
Man v Fat is an FA-affiliated scheme and currently has more than 8,500 players taking part in over 170 clubs across the UK.
Aimed at overweight and obese men with a BMI of higher than 27.5, the programme was created by Andrew Shanahan, who, fed-up with traditional weight loss classes primarily aimed at women, decided to develop a programme that combines the beautiful game with achievable weight loss goals for men.
Before matches, players are weighed and show their weekly food trackers which is followed by a 30-minute game of five-a-side, with extra goal bonuses awarded to teams based on the amount of weight players have lost. Weight loss and match scores then contribute to teams’ league positions within the club. Players receive additional support for both physical and mental health including healthy meal recipe ideas, and access to a mental health platform.
Beverley Young, coach of MAN v FAT Football in Carlisle, said: “It’s been just great to be able to celebrate both on the pitch and off the pitch success.
“I absolutely have loved watching the achievements and responses to the challenges of the last 16 months and hope we can continue to improve physical and mental health for the men in our city.”
For more information, visit the Carlisle club’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MVFcarlisle
