MAN v FAT Football clubs in Cowes and Sandown have helped men across the Isle of Wight lose over a tonne of excess weight in 2024.
These men include Ray Richardson, who plays at the programme’s Cowes club, and is being lauded as one of MAN v FAT Football’s top 20 ‘biggest losers’, since its inception in 2016. Over 20,000 men across the UK have taken part in MAN v FAT Football in the last 9 years.
MAN v FAT is a weight loss initiative that aims to help overweight and obese men with a BMI of over 27.5 lose unhealthy weight through weekly football and lifestyle coaching sessions.
At sessions, players are weighed, 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 position within a club’s league table.
Clubs take place at The Bay CE High School in Sandown on Tuesday evenings and at Cowes Enterprise College on Friday evenings. In 2024, 170 players from the two clubs have lost 1100kg (170 stone) between them.
New players joining for their first season at either the Cowes or Sandown club can benefit from their first 14-week season free of charge, thanks to funding from Isle of Wight Council.
Ray Richardson has lost an impressive 10 stone with the help of the programme. He explains:
“I started MAN v FAT at 24 and a half stone, I’m now 14 and a half stone – so I’ve lost 40 per cent of my starting body weight.
“I’ve been playing football since I was 5 years-old, however when I hit 21, I dislocated my knee and couldn’t play for a couple of years. I went into managing teams as I still wanted to be involved, though put on a lot of weight during that time.
“I then dislocated my knee again two years later and I told myself I would never play football again. I didn’t – for number of years – until I heard about MAN v FAT launching a club in Cowes, my mate asked me to try it out, so I went for it.
“Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t easy at the start at all. I got myself a personal trainer that helped me work on a meal plan and workouts away from the weekly MAN v FAT football sessions.
“Nine months later, I have hit my target of losing over 62kg. MAN v FAT been a great experience, I’ve met all sorts of people through the club and made new friends.
“At MAN v FAT Cowes, we help each other to hit our goals. The programme helps a lot of players’ mental health too – I feel so much more confident in myself and much fitter.
Richard Crick, Head of MAN v FAT adds:
“Ray is a shining example of how MAN v FAT can facilitate men changing their lives for the better. His story is just one of many men from across the Isle of Wight who attend our sessions every week initially, with the goal of losing weight, but who also make great friendships with like-minded men in similar positions to their own.
“Ray is now among our top 20 ‘biggest losers’ of all-time in terms of weight loss, but it’s also hugely rewarding to hear that he rediscovered his love of the beautiful game and has become a figurehead at the Cowes club.”
To find your closest MAN v FAT Football club, visit https://www.manvfatfootball.org/Leagues/FindALeague.
