Around 1,000 of our incredible community headed to Lilleshall National Sports Centre to contest this year’s tournament. And, on the day before the World Cup Final, there was no shortage of drama and match action at the MAN v FAT event.
Sixteen groups of football took place before the knockout stages began and the fixtures not only provided some great football, it also gave the chance for clubs up and down the country to share their MAN v FAT experiences and weight loss journeys with each other.
Among the teams taking to the pitch were our second US representatives, with a squad from Long Island City picking up the mantle from their Florida counterparts to take part in the tournament event.
They picked up two very creditable points in their group as they proved to be a tough team to break down.
With a busy morning of fixtures completed, the draw for the knockout stages started to take shape, with 32 teams progressing from the groups to take a step closer to silverware.
Those progressing included two teams from Newport, with the Exiles top scoring with 20 in the group stages.
Reaching the final would mean playing over two hours of football and many of the matches were a closely contested affair with several of the knockout games going to the drama of a penalty shoot-out.
Recent tournaments had been dominated by the Welsh but this time around the Scots grabbed some of the headlines as FC Twente Stone from Paisley carried the Scotland flag as far as the Quarter Finals in an admirable performance through the tournament.
By the semi-final stages, however, it was an all England affair and the chance for someone else to get their hands on the trophy.
Having reached the semi-finals last year, Peter Burger would improve on that this time around and, like Spain twenty-four hours later, they built their eventual success on the basis of a strong defence, conceding only twice in the whole tournament.
They edged past the hardy Jorviktorious from York in that final four encounter, lining up a final match against another new face in the big match – Lichfield.
They’d had to win a dramatic penalty shoot out against Tim and the Glory Boys from Margate to face Peter Burger and the final was a keenly and evenly contested match.
Eventually, Peter Burger’s balance between organisation and moments of class up front came to tell, as they came out on top in the final by a 2-0 scoreline.
A huge thanks to everyone who came along to Lilleshall to make it a day to remember. The tournament was played in great spirits and was a fantastic reminder of what makes MAN v FAT a brilliant community.
A big thanks also to our match officials and staff on the day who ensured the matches ran smoothly, along with our partners and charities who backed the event:-
Budy: https://budy.life/
Football Rebooted: https://www.footballrebooted.co.uk/
Hard As Nails: https://hard-as-nails.com/
Robin Cancer Trust: https://www.therobincancertrust.org/
Same time next year?
See how the tournament unfolded
Want to see a recap of the day’s results? You can still access our Tournify site for all of the games and the path to the final.
