12 hour football marathon kicks off

Saturday 01 July 2017

TackleAfrica's Jersey Football Marathon is back for the sixth consecutive year.

The annual marathon has raised over £1,400,000 for TackleAfrica which seeks to deliver life-saving HIV education through football coaching to young people across Africa.

This year's event will take place at Les Quennevais Sports Centre and involves squads of eight players playing 6-a-side football for 12 hours straight, although Express has been assured that some comfort breaks are allowed.

Local organiser, John Gamble, said: “The Football Marathon is always a very special day, but last year’s was phenomenal, so we’re very excited about this year.  We’ve had people badgering us to set the date for 2017 so we’re delighted to announce we’re back for 2017. The Football Marathon is a challenging event, but it’s a great day out and you get a fantastic buzz from playing. It's always wonderful to see returning players from previous years and to meet all the new teams taking part. We’re thrilled to have the support of Les Quennevais Sports Centre once again, and we’re aiming break more records this year.”

Last year, over 120 footballers in 16 teams took part in the marathon, each playing at least 20 games lasting 20 minutes a piece. Over the 12 hours, 148 games were played and 911 goals were scored in order to raise money for the event's patron charity, TackleAfrica.

TackleAfrica is an educational charity which operates in sub-saharan Africa, using football coaching to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS amongst young people.

The event begins at 8am, with final presentations at 8pm. For more information about the charity and how to get involved, click here.