If you have been around St. Mary’s Stadium the past few days then you were very close to a new world record.
The Testlands Support Project, a charity which focuses on giving equal opportunities to all children in Southampton, played the longest continuous football game in the world. The game went on for over four days, accumulating 102 hours; surpassing the old record of 101 hours.
The 36 players made St. Mary’s their home away from home for the 4 days, bringing tents onto the sides of the pitch and sleeping or resting whenever they were not playing. Each team had 18 players and was required to keep at least 8 on the pitch at all times for the record to be legitimate.
The men started at 18:30 on Sunday and scored 1,600 goals as the Red team came out on top beating the Whites 910-725.
Players had to deal with the obvious problems of fatigue and injuries but also the extreme weather that has passed the South Coast this week; they were drenched on Monday night and then were subjected to blazing sun especially on the final day of play.
Hundreds of locals came out to cheer on both sides including schoolchildren during Thursday’s play. Despite horrific rainstorms and the lack of the sleep the players were successful in their attempt and raised an estimated £25,000 in the process. The money will be used for summer activities for the local children.
