The Football League have announced the shortlist of seventy-two overseas football fans who will be entered into a draw to win a trip to the UK as part of the league's 'Stand Up & Be Counted' campaign.
Walsall supporter Eric Buttery, who lives in Torrevieja, Costa Blanca, Spain will be the Saddlers fan among those to be drawn, you can find further details below.
YOU CAN FIND THE FULL SHORTLIST | HERE
Football League club fans from around the world are in with a chance of winning a trip to the UK to see their team play, after one fan from each of the 72 clubs was shortlisted to win The Football League’s ‘Stand Up & Be Counted’ Campaign.
An overall winner from the 72 shortlisted fans will be announced on Saturday evening’s ‘Football On 5’ highlights programme on channel 5 from 9pm, with that fan then being given the incredible opportunity to fly over and watch their team in action later this season.
Each of the shortlisted fans, listed below, will be given one month’s free access to their Club PlayerHD service*, so they can listen to live match commentary of their club’s games wherever they are in the world.
A total of over 52,000 supporters from around the globe took part in the initiative by registering at www.representyourclub.com, with at least one fan registered in all 247 of the different territories. The country with the most fans registered was Australia, with a total of 8,667 fans standing up to be counted for their Football League club.
Topping the list of clubs with the most fans registered as part of the campaign was League 2 Notts County, whose total of 6,359 fans put them ahead of Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest in the rankings. Over half of the Magpies total came from fans in Italy, and was primarily down to the unique support they have from the ‘Italian Magpies’ supporters group – established because of the club’s connection to Italian giants Juventus.
As a reward for finishing top of the club league, The Football League will be providing an additional prize to fly a Notts County fan over to the UK to see them play. The name of the Notts County club winner is therefore being kept secret as the club will be revealing which supporter that is on Monday.
Fans can see the club and country standings, and a map of the world showing their club’s fanbase, at www.representyourclub.com.
Commenting on the campaign, Shaun Harvey, Chief Executive of The Football League said: “Football League clubs have always been right at the heart of their local communities but it’s quite incredible that there are also fans of our clubs in every country in the world. It’s great to see the level of passion there is for The Football League around the globe and we are delighted to offer the opportunity for fans abroad to come and see their team live as a reward for the support they show their respective clubs.”
Fans who missed out on being shortlisted for the prize to fly to the UK still don’t have to miss a goal for their club with The Football League’s Club PlayerHD service offering live match commentary of every game. In addition, Football League matches and highlights are broadcast in up to 167 territories around the world every week throughout the season.