A Non Stop Season of Premiership Football

On September 3rd-5th, football history will be made when two amateur football teams will play continuously for 57 hours in order to set a new world record. The total match time is the equivalent to playing a full, 38 game Premiership season continuously and will break the existing record by nearly fifteen hours.

UPDATE….

They’ve done it!

57 hours of football, 115 kilometers ran, 1000 bottles of gatorade consumed, two hours of sleep, one world record broken.

Bet72 are delighted to sponsor and support the boys in their effort to raise £10K and we will be blogging our way through all the free bet offers and bonuses for September to rasie as much as we can for this fantastic cause.

READ THE BLOG HERE

After seeing their previous held record of 36 hours overhauled, the players are returning to shatter the record, determined to restore some pride to English football by bringing the world record home.

The match at the University of Warwick will run from 11am on Friday, September 3, until 8pm on Sunday, September 5. It will smash the previous world record, which currently stands at 42 hours and 5 minutes, set in Qatar in May this year.

Here is how it was done by the boys in 2009

The match is being played between the Leeds Badgers and the Warwick Wolves from the University of Warwick in order to raise money for the Meningitis Trust and is being supported by Trust Ambassador, ex-Liverpool and Wales star Ian Rush, who contracted the disease as a child.

Rush, who scored over 200 goals for Liverpool and 28 for Wales, contracted the disease aged five and spent four weeks in an oxygen tent before thankfully surviving with no lasting after-effects.

The money is being raised in memory of Jamie Burdett, who played for the Badgers team and died from meningitis three years ago. The event follows on from the 36 hour match played last year, which raised over £5,000 for the charity.

Ian Rush, says; “What the two teams are doing is a fantastic achievement for English football and also the Meningitis Trust. I am so proud of what they guys are doing, raising awareness of this awful disease but also raising vital funds to help the Trust to continue its much needed work.

Ian continues; “I am urging everyone to dig deep into their pockets and to donate to this worthwhile cause, the guys are putting football and meningitis on the map, they are inspirations to us all!”

The 36 players (18 per squad) will each have to play around 29 hours in order to beat the record, which will be watched and scrutinised by a dedicated team of timekeepers. During the match players are allowed only a five minute break each hour, will play in each of the eleven positions, and will not be allowed to leave the pitch side for the entire duration.

Simon Lynes, organiser of the event, says; “The 36 hour event last year was tough but we raised a lot of money for the charity and it was frustrating to see our record get broken so quickly. We are a year wiser now, we’ve been training hard and I think people will struggle to beat this one! We are aiming to raise £10,000 for a great cause in memory of a good friend”.

Matthew Clarke, Community Development Coordinator for the Meningitis Trust, commented, “We are completely reliant on voluntary donations to continue our work and for people to raise awareness of the disease so something like this is vital to our future. This group is doing a fantastic job to help us make a difference to other people’s lives and it is wonderful to have Ian Rush supporting them”.

The Meningitis Trust provides the largest range of professional services and community based support for people affected by meningitis in the UK. The Trust offers practical, emotional and financial support to anyone struggling to cope with the impact of the disease, through a range of professional services.

The Trust helps around 20,000 people each year through its range of specialist support services, but it can’t do this alone. With as many as 500,000 people living in the UK who have had either viral or bacterial meningitis and up to one adult in every four knowing of someone who has had meningitis, the charity’s ongoing work is much-needed.

Bet72 are delighted to sponsor the event for such a fantastic cause and if you would like to make a donation yourself then pop along to http://www.justgiving.com/57hourfootball

Or for more information, go to www.worldrecordfootball.co.uk or to find out about meningitis and the support which is available to anyone please visit www.meningitis-trust.org

You can also donate by text by texting FOOTBALL to 70003. Text Costs £3 plus network charge. The Meningitis Trust receives at least £2.61. Obtain bill payers permission. Customer care 08448479800. Charity No 803016.