Men’s football team score an amazing weight loss goal
AN AMATEUR football club has helped overweight South Wales men lose a combined half-tonne over the past year.
Man v Fat Football Merthyr beat 150 similar teams across the country to win the Club of The Year prize, at a national health programme awards.
They were presented with the award at Manchester’s National Football Museum, by ex-Liverpool and Tottenham defender Neil Ruddock.
Man v Fat Football is a national programme that helps overweight and obese men with a BMI of more than 27.5 lose weight through weekly football and healthy lifestyle sessions.
At sessions, players are weighed, and this is followed by a 30-minute game of six-a-side football, with extra goal bonuses awarded to teams based on their weight loss.
A team’s total weight loss and match scores then contribute to their league position.
Around 8,500 men take part at 150 clubs across the UK.
Players at the Merthyr club lost an impressive 560kg, over half a tonne of excess weight across the last 12 months – while the number of men taking part each week grew from 58 to 112 in the same time period.
The club was recognised for its organisation of a charity football match which brought together two teams close to the heart of a local man who died suddenly last November. The Alex Meek Memorial Cup raised more than £8,000 for mental health charity Signposted Cymru.
The two teams that took part in the match were Man v Fat Merthyr, for which Alex played, and the Heolgerrig U14s + Friends, the team where Alex was a coach.
Alex Williams, the club’s coach, said: “Friday nights under the lights has become the cornerstone in a lot of our guys’ weight loss journeys and it touches on the brotherhood and real community that comes together around a common goal.”
He added: “We are extremely grateful for the recognition at the awards, however it was the last thing we expected. We just set out to help and support people in the local community both mentally and physically.”
The Man v Fat Merthyr league takes place every Friday evening at Merthyr Town Football Club, Penydarren Park. More information is available at manvfatfootball.org/Merthyr.