FAQ'S
Everything you need to know about signing up to MANvFAT Football
WEIGH, PLAY, LOSE, WIN
MAN v FAT Football is a football league for men who want to lose weight. Every player is in the same situation and wants the same thing - to enjoy football, lose weight and get healthier.
Uniquely, the league is decided not just on points won, but pounds lost. We give support to every player with unique resources, inspiration and support to help you lose weight, get fitter and enjoy the beautiful game.
That depends on how much you put into the club and how much of the support you take (the more, the better!)
In an assessed 14 week pilot scheme run by Solihull Council, players lost 22lbs on average, with 62% hitting their 5% body weight target. The maximum weight lost by one player was 67lbs and the maximum bodyweight percentage lost was 26%. 90% of players lose weight.
Because the leagues are not just decided on the games won on the pitch, but also on the weight lost off it, you can join a team as a non-playing member.
This means that you weigh in every week and support your team and your weight loss still counts towards your team’s success. When you’ve lost enough weight to feel comfortable joining in then you can get involved on the pitch.
We have a number of live clubs all over the country. Enter your postcode or nearest city on the 'Find A League' page here to get a full run-down of nearby clubs you can register with now.
We're always looking for new locations to bring MAN v FAT Football to. Give us a call if you're a football club, company or local authority who wants to bring a league to your area - 0345 163 0042
Three steps:
- Understand why you got fat.
- Learn how to lose weight.
- Put a plan into action.
To achieve this you will need two things: information – you’ll get this from your player dashboard and handbook, your coach, from your team’s WhatsApp group and from the MAN v FAT Community Facebook group.
Finally, you’ll need support – which you’ll get from your coach, other players, your team and the other men in your MAN v FAT Football club – and hopefully from your friends and family too.
Once you pay for a month of membership, that place is yours, even if you miss games - but bear in mind you can’t get credit for games you miss.
To get the benefit of the structure, we recommend missing no more than four games in fourteen weeks (the length of the average season). For each week you miss, we’ll send you an email to see how you’re doing. You can click a link to tell us you’ll be back the following week. If you don’t click the link, you’ll be marked as AWOL and if you’re marked as AWOL for more than three weeks with no contact, we may offer your space to a new starter, so make sure you let us know if you’re just away for a short while.
Once all teams at a club reach capacity, we start a waiting list. If anyone drops out of any teams then you will be able to join. You won't get a reduced experience, as the leagues automatically roll on, so you will be part of the next season as well. We fill these places in first come first serve order* so the sooner you join up the more likely you are to get a place.
*When a space becomes free we'll offer it to the waiting player who registered first, but if we don't hear back from him we'll offer it to the next on the list.
Each team has the capacity for one non-playing member. You can join as a non-playing member and no one will expect you to kick a ball throughout the whole league.
You can still get on the score sheet and be a vital member of the team if you turn up and weigh in every week to score the bonus goals available for consistent weight loss.
If football's not your thing but you like the concept of MAN v FAT Football, maybe MAN v FAT Challenge is more your thing. MAN v FAT Challenge is our online-only weight loss programme where we've taken everything we know works for successful weight loss but made it accessible wherever you are in the world, whenever you need it.
- Weekly game
An organised game of football at your venue every week, including use of the pitch, balls and referees.
- Qualified referees
Our referees are FA qualified and we are also partnering with the FA to provide training so that you can become a qualified small-sided football referee. Free places are limited, and any player that trains up will then have the opportunity to undertake paid work with MAN v FAT Football. Email hiring@manvfat.com for more information.
- Trophies and medals
We offer professionally made, attractive trophies and medals to celebrate your success.
- Weekly progress email
Get an after match email with a detailed breakdown of how you’re doing every week.
- Routine, support and accountability
These are all extremely important when it comes to successful weight loss. A peer support network has been proven to be beneficial when losing weight. Simply put, having people you can turn to when times get tough and having the routine of weighing in every week will keep you accountable and on track.
And besides, how many times have you been successful on your own?!
- Medical grade scales and all legally required insurance
Our scales are Class III medical-grade scales from a professional manufacturer which supplies scales to the NHS. This means our scales are as accurate as can be.
- Manage your membership and receive wide range of support via The Dugout, your exclusive members' area
The Dugout brings together all aspects of your membership to allow you to keep track of your progress and to supply you with all the motivation you need succeed on your weight loss and wellbeing efforts!
- Exclusive access to MAN v FAT Foundations and The MAN v FAT Gym
MAN v FAT Foundations, in association with Koa Health, is a digital platform dedicated to helping you with your wellbeing. Developed by health professionals, it aims to support you with a number of issues, including but not limited to depression, anxiety and stress. Support can be accessed whenever is convenient for you, completely online.
The MAN v FAT Gym is an online workout website that gives you access to hundreds of exercise videos as well as giving you the opportunity to take part in live workouts with qualified personal trainers, all from the comfort of your own home.
- Handbook and resources
All MAN v FAT Football players receive a player handbook, where you can track your progress as well as your food intake.
It costs £9.99 to register with a Club. You then get signed to a Team and pay £28.50 per month - £31 per month, depending on location
If you are eligible for a funded place then you pay nothing to register* or play - your costs have already been covered by a funder, most often your local authority or a national funding body such as Sport England. *Sometimes the funder asks us to take a deposit for players to ensure that they turn up - if this is the case then this deposit will be refunded providing you attend at least 10 of the first 14 weeks of your membership from the date you join (which seems fair!) Once your funding has finished, you will automatically be charged the subscription fee.
The cost to your health of not signing up is potentially tragic.
On the date you get assigned to a Team, your monthly membership subscription will begin. You won't get assigned to a Team until the same week as the first available session you can join. You pay in advance for one month of membership at a time, so your payments will come out on or near to* the same date each month unless you cancel your membership before that date.
*Collection dates may be affected by weekends and public holidays
Yes, absolutely you can. We have sponsorship options for all teams and for the leagues as a whole.
To have a sponsor brand on your Team shirts, you need to purchase official MAN v FAT branded kits through the MAN v FAT Shop and select the customisation option to include a sponsor logo.
Official MAN v FAT kit is not mandatory, but we don't allow sponsor logos on kit purchased elsewhere.
If you're interested in sponsoring a League, drop us an email to football@manvfat.com for details.
First off, as soon as you join up the system should send you a Welcome email which answers all of your questions. If you haven’t seen that email then check your spam or promotions folder as it will almost certainly be there.
Before your season begins you’ll be added to a club WhatsApp group and given info about your first session. If you're joining in with a brand new location launch, the first session will be a group induction held before the games begin so you can meet your new teammates, get your official starting measurements logged (height, weight, etc) and ask any location-specific questions you might still have (what boots I should wear, etc).
In short, don’t worry - we’ll be in touch as soon as we're able to assign you to a Team. If you want to check dates when your club is in session then have a look at your club homepage.
In your welcome email you'll get a unique MAN v FAT Refer A Friend referral code you can share with a mate (or a stranger if you want) to save them £5 off the registration fee.
Get as many of your friends as you like to sign up, and if you want them to be on your Team, make sure they enter the same league as you. Then drop us an email to football@manvfat.com telling us your name and your friend’s name and we’ll do our best to ensure they are put onto your Team, although this isn't always possible due to Team capacities. If you don’t request any members of your team then you will be put onto a team with a balance of positions and weights.
Appropriate footwear with trainers or studs, ask at your location for full details of the best footwear for the surface. You must wear shin pads and remove all jewellery before games otherwise you will not be allowed to play. You should wear a shirt in your Team's colour (which you'll find out once you receive an email confirming which Team you've been signed to!)
If you're attending an induction session for a brand new Club location launch, you can wear casual clothes.
Let your League coach and Team captain know as soon as you know you’ll be missing and they can balance the team accordingly. We ask that if you’re well enough that you still attend the weekly weigh-in which takes place before the game. This way you can still keep a track of your weight and if you’ve lost then you can still be a valuable member of your team - remember it’s about goals on and off the pitch!
If you’re wondering if it’s worth joining up because you’ll miss a few games with work, don’t worry. We can support you to lose weight even if you can’t make all games. Some players join as non-playing members (due to disability or mobility issues) - they still make a very valid and positive input without ever kicking a ball. The idea of the Club is that it helps you to lose weight - the football is important but weight loss is more important. Give it a try.
MAN v FAT Football Clubs are capped at 8 Teams per Club and each Team is capped at 10* Players a side.
This means there will be times when a Club is full, but you can still register for that Club to be put on a waiting list to get notified ASAP when a space opens up.
When a player achieves his weight loss goals and decides to move on, opening up a space on a team, we will contact players on the waiting list in order of registration to give each in turn first refusal at taking the space.
The league table is made of a combination of football scores and the bonus goals from your weekly weigh ins.
You can earn bonus weight loss goals by losing as a team (the more of you who lose, the higher the goal bonus), by losing for three weeks you get a hatrick, which is worth another goal and by reaching your 5% and 10% targets.
Be warned – you can also lose your team goals by going above your starting weight or by forgetting to bring your Handbook to the weekly weigh ins.
Never forget: the football is important but the most vital thing about the scheme is losing weight and getting healthier
Players must weigh BEFORE the game. If a player weighs after the game then they can get their weight but it will be recorded as a no-show (weight entered the same as last week’s) for the purposes of scoring – there are no exceptions for this.
Weigh in goal bonuses. Players can SCORE weight loss goal bonuses in three ways:
• Scoring Hatricks - three weeks of weight loss = one goal bonus given on the week it is achieved. This is taken from your lowest reading - e.g. if you weigh at 103, then go on holiday and go up to 106, then your weight loss bonus will start again at under 103, not 106. Another three weeks is another hatrick = one goal bonus. In total you can gain up to four bonus goals for your team in any one league this way.
• Team bonus – we count the number of players on your team who have lost weight in the current week and add a goal bonus:
1 or 2 players from your team losing = 1 goal bonus added to the score of that week’s game.
3 or 4 = 2 goal bonus added to the score of that week’s game
5 or 6 = 3 goal bonus added to the score of that week’s game
7 or 8 = 4 goal bonus added to the score of that week’s game
9/10/11 = 5 goal bonus added to the score of that week’s game
• 5% and 10% bonus - once a player hits 5% weight loss they get a three goal bonus. At 10% they get another three goal bonus.
Weight loss punishment. A player can LOSE a goal for his team in two ways:
MAN v FAT Football Player Handbook. This handbook is used to record a player’s own progress but also to ensure that he is filling in the information for each week. If he loses his Handbook or it is not filled in then the Coach can give the player his weight for his own records but it will be recorded as a no-show (e.g. weight is given as the same as last week’s and therefore no loss is recorded).
Own goal – a player whose weight goes above his registration weight will lose his team a goal for each week until this returns under the starting weight.
The Top Scorer table on your league homepage gives you the top 10 weight loss bonus goal scorers in your league. It is not a list of the top players by weight loss. Points are awarded for achieving percentage loss targets and for consistent weight loss, so a Player who attends every game may score more bonus points than a Player who loses more weight but misses out on bonus goals due to absence.
You can calculate your total weight loss goals by visiting the “How does the weight loss goal bonuses work?” section of the FAQ and adding all your accrued bonuses for your current season together. The total number of weight loss goal bonuses a player can receive in one season is 17. If you think that there is an error in this table then please contact your league coach.
Own goals are a fantastic source of motivation and accountability for players when things aren't going so well.
If your weight is higher than your season start weight, you'll concede and score an own goal. If you continue to gain weight over your season start weight, you'll continue to score own goals.
You'll still be able to score goals for tracking your food, and if you're above your season start weight but are losing weight you'll be able to score both tracking goals and hattricks, but you won't be able to score the usual weight loss bonus goals until you are back below your season start weight.
While regular physical activity is fun and healthy and being more active is very safe for most people, exercise does carry its own risks and sometimes injuries cannot be prevented.
If you're injured, you are encouraged to continue with your membership as a non-playing member. With this membership, you can still attend weekly weigh-ins, ensuring that there's no disruption to your weight loss journey.
You'll still contribute to your team's score with weight loss bonus goals.
If you'd rather not continue to be a non-playing member until you're fit to return to the pitch, we can remove you from your team to stop future payments while you are injured. However, we're not able to reserve spots within a team for players without an active membership and so this may result in being assigned to a different team or joining your club's waiting list if your club reaches capacity before you return. You will need to contact football@manvfat.com to deactivate your account.
If a player becomes injured during a MAN v FAT Football session and it has been reported or an appropriate first aider has provided support, the injury must be reported. MAN v FAT can then ensure the necessary protocols were followed and investigate whether there were any reasonable steps we could've taken to reduce the risk of injury.