Peterborough men achieving life changing weight loss through football lift the trophy at their own world tournament

Whilst the eyes of the world were on New York for the 2026 World Cup Final a group of Peterborough men, who are part of international football-based weight loss programme MAN v FAT, emerged victorious from the programme’s own World Tournament at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Shropshire, where England legends like Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle and Bryan Robson once trod.

Peter Burger United, a team from the MAN v FAT Peterborough club, lifted silverware in the (not so) heavy weight battle of 96 MAN v FAT Football teams.

Around 1,000 men competed in the tournament, including teams from Long Island City in New York as well as from Bristol, Bridgend, Leeds and Lincoln as well as a host of other UK destinations. 

Nathan Southerland, who played for Peter Burger United, alongside Adam Haywood, Chris Webb, David Gough, Gary Scott, Gav Hart, Jonathan Clenshaw, Maxim Anderson, Paul Dennes and Sam Dalton, said: 

"We are delighted to have won the MAN v FAT World Tournament. It was a great day, really competitive and we felt like we were constantly in action, which was fantastic. Every match was closely fought. We played ten games and only conceded two goals."

MAN v FAT was built on a simple idea: to get men who want to lose weight onto a football pitch, surround them with a supportive community, and let the results follow. Since its founding, the programme has helped thousands of men across the UK, and now the US, shed more than one million pounds of weight – nearly 78,000 stones - with participants regularly reporting improved fitness, confidence and mental wellbeing alongside the pounds lost.

Every man stepping onto the pitch at Lilleshall earned his place not just through football ability, but through sustained commitment to the programme. Team spots were only made available to members who had stayed active in their local club since spots were made available earlier in the year.

“Although MAN v FAT began as a grassroots UK movement, this year's World Tournament underlines just how far it has travelled,” says Richard Crick, Director of MAN v FAT. 

“Alongside squads from clubs the length and breadth of the UK, teams will fly in from the United States to compete on the same pitches, chasing the same goal: to lose weight, get fit, and support one another in doing it.”

Previous Tournaments have already seen teams travel from Florida and New York City to take part, and this year's event, cementing MAN v FAT's growing footprint in the United States through its sister programme, MAN v FAT Soccer. In addition to the more than 150 MAN v FAT Football clubs in the UK, there are now 30 active MAN v FAT Soccer clubs across the USA, from California to Florida and from Pennsylvania to Texas. 

"Whilst our focus is always on weight loss and wellbeing, this Tournament is a real celebration of the football element of what we do," adds Crick. "To have men flying in from New York to play alongside clubs from across the UK shows just how far this community has come, and just how universal the message is.”

The MAN v FAT Peterborough club meets on Monday evenings at the Nene Park Academy on Oundle Road. For more information, visit manvfatfootball.com