A group of 50 amateur footballers in Stevenage have been nominated for a national award.

Their club kicked off in January 2022 as part of an FA-accredited weight loss programme, and they are now in with a chance at winning the 'Club of the Year' award at next month's MAN v FAT Football National Awards.

Since launching, club members have lost 473.6kg between them - almost 75 stone.

Aimed at men with a BMI higher than 27.5, more than 8,500 players now take part in over 170 MAN v FAT football clubs across the UK.

The club in Stevenage meets on Thursday evenings at Shephalbury Sports Academy.

Every week, the players are weighed before taking part in a 30-minute game of six-a-side football. Extra goal bonuses are awarded to teams based on their weight loss, and match results contribute to team's league positions within the league.

Jasmine Jennings, coach at the Stevenage club, said: "The journey overall is going really well.

“We have a wide range of success stories from players losing 5 per cent of their body weight in a matter of weeks, some are 25 per cent lighter than when they started last year, and we even have three players who now boast a healthy BMI. 

“The beauty of it is that we don’t expect players to leave once they have achieved their goal, we want them to stay on and be the motivation for newcomers.

"Staying with the club also keeps them on track as they continue to score bonus goals for every week that they maintain the weight.”