Football fans to hike between Irish League clubs and camp at grounds along the way

Gareth Brown and Chris Kirk, who are both Glentoran fans, will start their five-day trip when they leave the Oval on Tuesday, camping out in four stadiums along the way.

Through the challenge the men are hoping to raise funds for the Sport Changes Life Foundation which helps to elevate the aspirations of young people from disadvantaged communities across Northern Ireland.

Gareth, 29, said: “We’re nothing out of the ordinary in terms of fitness but we’ve committed ourselves to doing charity events.

“Most of my fitness is done through charity events – Prostate Cancer, NI Children’s Hospice, that’s kept me fit throughout the year.

“It keeps the body and the brain ticking over during lockdown.”

Last year the pair helped to raise £16,000 for the Survivors of Suicide group in east Belfast where they both live.

Now the lifelong friends have set themselves the ‘Stride The Stadia’ challenge, which will see them walk a 210-mile route around every Irish Premier League ground over five days, starting and ending with their own beloved club, Glentoran.

Of the upcoming challenge, Gareth, who works as a sales rep for Henderson Food Group, said: “Me and Chris are doing all the walk and camping every night but at certain points we’ll have friends and family joining us for moral support.

“We’ll be staying at the side of pitch at the destination ground every night (Portadown, Dungannon, Coleraine and Larne). We can use shower facilities as well. The clubs are all on board with this.”

Chris, 35, said: “Gareth and I go back a brave while. We met through mutual friends and through going to The Oval to watch the Glens.

“We haven’t always been in each other’s pockets, but we stay in touch. He’s always done charity stuff, I’ve always done charity stuff, it made sense to do some things together.”

Chris, who works at his family’s car cosmetic business in Bangor, hasn’t watched Glentoran for nearly two years: “It’s been a long time. I cannot wait to get back.

“Football without the fans isn’t the same.

“People have maybe been taking things for granted until what happened over the last two years. I’m hoping maybe more people will come back to the Irish League when it starts up again.“

Stride the Stadia begins on Tuesday and finishes on Saturday.

You can donate to Sport Changes Life via the ‘Stride The Stadia’ Go Fund Me page or by texting STRIDE plus an amount in pounds to 70085, eg STRIDE 5.

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