Four Wythenshawe fans have completed a 75-mile walk to the home of FC Isle of Man for charity.
The walk was a part of the British Heart Foundation’s Walk for Hearts campaign, and to benefit the football club.
Martin Howe, Amy Finnigan, Ashley Butterly and Wayne West set off to the island on Wednesday morning, visiting countless football grounds on the way.
The team’s initial aim was to raise a thousand pounds, which was smashed after day one. They now set their sights to double the initial goal.
This will be their fifth year walking to Wythenshawe’s furthest away match, with previous walks raising thousands for other charities and people around the club.
Martin, one of the walkers, said: “We wanted to raise the money for both the football club and the charity.
“There’s a lot of causes that we’re all affected by, and we know a couple of people that have benefitted from the British Heart Foundation’s help.”
Martin has been a Wythenshawe fan since 2017 after quitting football refereeing and has followed them ever since.
“At Wythenshawe we’ve got 63 teams across the club, from the age of three to the first team, a veteran’s team and a semi-professional ladies’ team,” Martin said.
“The money raised is to support the club and make sure that as many young people are able to play football and make sure that all the facilities are right for our teams.”
Martin and the team have visited various other teams in the North West Counties Football League over the last few years, from as local as West Didsbury and Chorlton to as far as Chasetown in Staffordshire.
“We’ve always walked to the furthest game of each season. Last year we walked to Chasetown, which was slightly further at 80 miles.
“That was particularly gruelling because we had to walk over Cannock Chase and it’s going to be just as tough over the next couple of days.”
The trek to FC Isle of Man is the most difficult yet, with the remote location of the club and the time of year the walk is taking place.
“This will be the toughest because it’s mid-February. It was forecast to be raining all three days at the start of the week, but we have been quite lucky today where its been dry.
“The big thing is getting up so early, having to disrupt our sleeping pattern, and rushing for the ferry just after midday on Friday. It’s a tough one; we’ll be setting off on three o’clock on Friday morning.”
Walks over the last five years have helped out charities, such as Mind, as well as helping a former player recover from a serious injury and a former staff member’s cancer treatment.
“Every time that total goes up, we’re nearly at the £1000 before we’ve finished the first day today, so we’re really happy it’s gone so good.”
The link to donate is below.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/fourstupidsoulswalktotheisleofmanbowl