SPIREITES: Chesterfield FC fan wins free flight from Australia to watch his side play

A committed Chesterfield fan in Australia has won a free flight over to watch his team in action.
Chesterfield football Club Web TileChesterfield football Club Web Tile
Chesterfield football Club Web Tile

Spireite supporter Alex Douglas, from Brisbane, has seen off competition from more than 52,000 from around the world in the Football League’s Stand Up and Be Counted Campaign.

It asked overseas fans to register the team they support along with their country and city of residence, in a bid to find out which Football League clubs were best supported from overseas.

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It saw at least one fan registered in all 247 of the different territories.

The country with the most fans registered was Alex’s - and Chesterfield star Chris Herd’s home land - Australia, with a total of 8,667 fans standing up to be counted for Football League clubs.

And Chris had a special message for the winner: “Alex, I have a lot of respect for you. I know more than most what it’s like to follow the English game from the other side of the world.

“The late nights, the unsociable hours, nobody having a clue who your team is and most frustratingly screaming at the TV because you live more than 10,000 miles away from the stadium.

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“Bring that Aussie spirit and winning mentality with you, pal. We can’t wait to welcome you to the club.”

The initiative showed that Chesterfield as a club boasted 187 overseas supporters, with the country with the most overseas Spireites fans being the United States - Gboly Ariyibi’s national side.

As a reward for Australia being the country with most Football League fans, an Australian-based fan was randomly selected to fly over to the UK and see their club play.

Every overseas fan that was shortlisted for the campaign has been 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.

Visit www.representyourclub.com to find your fans.

- Are you Alex Douglas? We want to hear your story. Get in touch with us at the Derbyshire Times via [email protected].