Like so many others, we were deeply sadden to learn of the passing of Adam Stansfield last August. A hero and work horse on the pitch, and a gentleman off it, although never having known him, we felt like we had lost a brother. As a Hereford United fan, it is easy to imagine the league football we have enjoyed these past 4 seasons would not have been possible without Adams contribution. 25 goals in 2 seasons, and the most sublime of crosses for the equaliser during the playoff final, as well as yet another tireless shift, propelled the club back into the football league. I kept a loose eye on his time at Exeter also, and was impressed, (though not surprised) by the love he quickly earned from the St James faithful. His death made us think. He gave us so much, what could we give back.
We quickly learned of the Adam Stansfield Foundations formation, and it inspired us. Myself and my Bristol City supporting Step-father Steve concocted a plan. Steve had been reading the literary classic "around the world in 80 days", and from there, we developed the concept of "around the grounds in 80 hours". Like Ronseal - we wanted to do exactly that. Visit all 92 Barclays Premier and N-Power football league clubs in an 80 hour period. Had it been done before? Who knows. Google showed us a group that had done it in 5 days, and even a group that did it in 92 hours. We may even be unique in what we are attempting, but we cant prove it.
Our mission plan was simple. Visit each ground, pull up, take a photograph and then depart. We thought we would let every club know what we were doing, as a courteous way of asking for permission. As a fan of the Bulls, I decided to let Hereford United know first. I was most pleasantly surprised when one evening I returned home to find an email from HUFC vice chairman Tim Russon, offering us full support and signed merchandise to raffle for the cause. This got us thinking about just what we could actually achieve, and a further 91 emails were sent out. Many clubs have responded, offering us shirts, balls tickets and many other things, and we will hold several auctions after we have collected everything.
In homage to the original Jules Verne Novel, and to keep a theme, we are going to both start and finish at Edgar Street, Hereford. We are departing at 4.00 am from Hereford on Wednesday March 9th, and heading immediately to Swansea. We are hitting the 2 welsh clubs, following which we are diving into Bristol, and heading south to Exeter. We will hit the southern clubs from here, and travel along the cost, before circling around and entering London. From there we are into Essex and Norfolk, before coming into the East Midlands. Then we head north into Yorkshire, before hitting the North East, Carlisle, and then dropping down into Lancashire and Mersyside. We will then enter the West Midlands before circling down to Oxford, Swindon Cheltenham before finally arriving in Hereford, where we intend to attend the HUFC v Barnet home league match. We aim to be in Hereford by 10am Saturday March 12th. If anyone would like to meet us on route at their clubs ground, we are happy to arrange this with you.
We currently only have a 3 man team, 2 of which are driving. Therefore, we have a space for a spare driver should anyone be interested. Requirements are that you have a full license, and can insure yourself to drive, as well as contribute to fuel and food costs. For more information please email: aroundthegroundsin80hours@hotmail.co.uk
Should anyone wish to sponsor us (and please do) then email a pledged amount to aroundthegroundsin80hours@hotmail.co.uk FAO Adam. We will then send out details of how you can get the money to us and the foundation. A small contribution will also be made to Peterborough charity the free kicks foundation for their wonderful help and support in this venture.
Adam
