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Scunthorpe fat-fighting footballers raise £1,000 for cause close to home with charity match

A group of Scunthorpe men who play football as part of a weight loss programme have raised an incredible £1,000 for a cause close to home.

The men, who play for the MAN v FAT club, held an eleven-a-side match to raise money for the Huntington’s Disease Association, to show their support to fellow player Matthew “Gibbo” Gibson, whose close family member has the disease.

Huntington’s Disease is an inherited condition which affects nerve cells in the brain, and attacks the areas that help to control voluntary movement.

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The match was one of many organised by the club in the last 15 months, during which the players have raised an amazing £7,000 for a range of good causes.

Jamie Hannath, coach of the MAN v Fat Scunthorpe club, said: “Gibbo, as we know him, asked if we could arrange a game to raise some money as this is so personal to him.

“We have managed to grow our 11-a-side team and we now also have a development team. We had about 20 players per team, which means everybody gets a run out. We ask each to donate a minimum of £5 or as much as they wish, we had a local FA referee who gave his time for nothing and so, once we’ve paid for the pitch, the rest is for the charity.




“We also do a raffle for some hampers and similar and that raises an extra few hundred pounds. The fact that it is one of our guys whose family is dealing with this goes right to the heart of the community aspect of MAN v FAT.”

MAN v FAT Football is aimed at men with a BMI of higher than 27.5, and the scheme currently has 8,200 players taking part in more than 150 leagues across the UK. The total amount of weight lost by players nationally currently stands at more than 650,000lbs.

Before matches, the players are weighed, followed by a 30-minute game of six-a-side, with extra goal bonuses awarded to teams based on the amount of weight players have lost. Players receive additional support including healthy meal recipe ideas and tips on general fitness.

Jamie continued: “Every member of every MAN v FAT club up and down the country will say they’ve got a special bond with their lads, and we’re just the same. We have just gone from six teams to eight teams in the club and have about 80 lads registered with us. We have a great little community and excellent rapport with other local MAN v FAT clubs, like those in Lincoln, Boston and Hull.

“We’re hopefully going to run an eight-team, seven-a-side tournament with the Hull MAN v FAT club to raise money to support our head coach Dave Bell and his nephews, who will be climbing Ben Nevis to raise funds for The Royal Marsden Hospital following the death of Dave’s sister earlier this year. It gives everybody a sense of purpose, and everybody loves to do something good.”

The Scunthorpe club meets on Tuesday evenings at Frederick Gough School on Grange Lane. More information can be found here.

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe

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