This is something that varies from person to person for many reasons, but in general: 90% of people who join MAN v FAT Football lose weight.

In an assessed 14-week pilot scheme run by Solihull Council, players lost 22lbs on average, with 62% hitting their 5% body weight target.

Yes, of course!

MAN v FAT Football is primarily a weight loss programme, so although football is a big part of what we do, your efforts to lose weight off the pitch are just as important.

It doesn't matter if you've never kicked a ball, or haven't played since school, no one is going to judge you for not being a pro.

MAN v FAT Football is for everyone, no matter your fitness level. If you've not exercised for years, that's ok - just take things at your own pace.

If you feel you're not able to play for the entire duration of a game, that's fine! Do what feels comfortable. Your team can make use of subs with no problem, and you can work your way up to playing more. Remember, the safest way to return to physical activity is to go at your own pace.

There are loads of free BMI calculators on the web: here's one from the NHS. Simply pop your stats in and it'll tell you what your BMI is. 

MAN v FAT Football is for men with a BMI of 27.5 and above, which is why we ask for your BMI.

We have lots of members who work shifts and have to miss the odd game.

When you pay for a month of MAN v FAT Football membership, that place is yours even if you miss a game. Obviously, you don't want to miss too many sessions, but we know that shift work can make it hard to attend week after week.

Let your coach know you're not going to make a session as soon as you know your schedule. You'll get the most benefit from MAN v FAT Football if you can make at least 10 out of the 14 sessions in a season.

We'll send you an email when you miss a session to check in and see how you're doing, and you'll be able to click a link to let us know you'll be back next week. If you don't do this for more than three weeks, we may offer your space to a new starter, so be sure to let us know if you'll be away for longer than this.

Welcome aboard!

Once you've signed up, you'll receive an email to confirm your membership is good to go. Can't see the email? Check your spam or promotions folder.

You'll get the chance to join your new club's WhatsApp group so you can start chatting with your new clubmates, and you can make use of our online resources straight away (check your welcome email for more details).

You'll be assigned to a team ASAP. How long this takes depends on availability within your club, but your coach will able to keep you updated.

Your MAN v FAT Football club sessions

Your weekly MAN v FAT Football sessions make MAN v FAT Football an incredibly effective way to lose weight. On club nights, you'll weigh in privately on our medical-grade scales, and get a chance to chat to your coach about how your week's gone. Good, bad, or just plain ugly - it's always a safe space to get support.

After the weigh in, it's time to get on the pitch. Your membership includes use of the venue, pitch, balls and our referees.

When it's time to celebrate your weight loss success, we use professionally made certificates, medals and trophies.

Your weekly progress email

After every session, you'll get a detailed post-match email that breaks down how you're doing each week.

The Dugout

The Dugout is our exclusive members-only portal, packed with exclusive recipes and articles to support your weight loss.

MAN v FAT Gym

The MAN v FAT Gym brings on-demand online fitness classes to you, wherever you are. Log on from the comfort of your own home and enjoy a wide variety of classes, including HIIT (that's high intensity interval training), Pilates, football drills and more. There's something suitable for all levels of fitness, and all our classes are led by qualified fitness professionals, so you know you'll get a good workout in.

MAN v FAT Foundations

MAN v FAT Foundations is our mental health and wellbeing platform run in partnership with mental health experts Koa Health. Find personalised support and guidance for whatever's troubling you, whether that's anxiety, depression, anger issues, stress or something else, and work through it using Foundations' CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) based approach.

All players weigh in at the start of each session. If it's your first time, this weigh-in will be your starting point. You've got to weigh in to be able to play - no weigh, no play! Don't worry about stepping on the scales, only you and your coach will be able to see the number.

You'll be able to chat to your coach about how your week's gone and get any support you need to make the next week a good one.

After you've weighed in, it's time to lace up your boots and get on the pitch. Your team will play against another team from your club, with the game lasting 28 minutes. Team performance on the scales gets added to the pitch results for the final score.

Yes! We put all new members into teams, so you don't need to worry about getting a team together before you join.

We know it can be daunting to start something new on your own, but you'll always get a warm welcome from your club's coach and your fellow players.

If you're unlucky enough to get injured during your MAN v FAT Football membership and you feel your injury means you can't play, don't worry. Let our Player Support Team know as soon as you can by emailing football@manvfat.com or calling 0345 153 0042.

You can continue to attend your MAN v FAT Football club nights to take part as a non-playing member, meaning you'll continue to weigh in without playing football.

We know how important accountability and routine is to weight loss, so this gives you a way of keeping up your healthy habits while you're injured. As well as being good for your motivation, your progress on the scales will also continue to contribute to your team's overall score, so you can still help your team while you're out of action.

If you're injured and unable to play, we'd urge you to keep eating well and keep attending your weekly weigh-in. If you choose to cancel your subscription instead, we may be unable to reserve your spot, as many of our club locations have a waiting list.

If you've decided MAN v FAT Football isn't for you, no hard feelings.

Fill out this form and your membership will be cancelled within 48 hours. Please only do this once you've had your last game.

You can log in to our exclusive, members only portal here. If you've not logged in before, follow the link to email yourself an invite to sign up and set a password. Make sure you're using the email address you signed up to MAN v FAT Football with.

Problems logging in? Drop us a line at support@manvfat.com and we'll get you sorted.

MAN v FAT Foundations is our digital mental health and wellbeing platform, which is run in partnership with Koa Health.

You can sign up on their website here, and you can download the Foundations app on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

It costs £9.99 to register with a club. Your monthly payments start once you've been assigned to a team, and you'll pay £31-£33.50 a month depending on your location.

You'll pay a registration fee when you sign up, and then your first monthly payment is taken when you've been assigned to a team.

Your monthly membership subscription will begin on the date you get assigned to a team. You won't get assigned to a team until the same week as the first available session you can join, so you won't be paying your monthly membership fee without being able to play.

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.

If you want to change the date your payments are taken, contact the Player Support Team by emailing football@manvfat.com or calling 0345 163 0042.

*Collection dates may be affected by weekends and public holidays.

No, sorry.

We don't offer a pay and play option because once you join a team, you take that spot on the team for the duration of your membership, and we cap the maximum number of players on each team to ensure everyone gets a game.

If you've decided MAN v FAT Football isn't for you, no hard feelings.

Fill out this form and your membership will be cancelled within 48 hours. Please only do this once you've had your last game.

No, sorry.

MAN v FAT Football is a popular programme and places are always in demand, so we don't offer a way of pausing your membership. Once your membership has been cancelled, we will offer your place to someone on the waiting list.

A funded club is a MAN v FAT Football club that has received funding from a local partner (usually a local authority/council, football club or community group) to run the sessions.

This can work in a few different ways, including offering a limited number of free spaces on specific clubs, or offering a saving on membership. If your club is a funded club, you'll be able to see all the details on your club's homepage, including whether there are funded spaces available and who we're working with to deliver the sessions.

There will be certain terms and conditions attached to funded spaces, which will be outlined on your club's homepage. Typically, this will include living within a certain area or in a specific postcode area, and only being able to take advantage of a funded space once.

You can always get in touch with our Player Support Team for more info on funded clubs by emailing football@manvfat.com.

You can update your payment details here. We use Stripe to process payments, so this link takes you to the MAN v FAT Stripe billing portal. Enter the email address you signed up with and Stripe will send you instructions on how to update your details.

Alternatively, get in touch with our Player Support Team by emailing football@manvfat.com or calling 0345 163 0042.

If you choose to rejoin MAN v FAT Football after cancelling your membership, you will have to pay another registration fee so we can set up your regular monthly membership subscription payments.

However, we offer a reduced registration fee to returning members and all money collected from return registrations is donated to MAN v FAT Causes, a benevolent fund set up and run by MAN v FAT Football members to contribute to charities nominated by players.

Get in touch with our Player Support Team by emailing football@manvfat.com or calling 0345 163 0042.

You should wear a shirt in your team's colour that you feel comfortable in. You'll find out your team's colour once you've been assigned to a team. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, basic gear from your local sports shop is absolutely fine.

You must wear appropriate footwear with trainers or studs. This will vary by location, so ask your coach, in your club's WhatsApp group or your venue to find out the best footwear for the surface.

Your must wear shin pads and remove all jewellery before games, or you won't be allowed to play.

If you're attending an induction sessions for a brand new club launch, you can wear casual clothes.

You don't have to wear MAN v FAT branded kit at any point, but you can check out our sportswear shop in partnership with Hope + Glory here.

No, you don't have to buy MAN v FAT Football kit to play at a MAN v FAT Football session. Basic kit from your local bargain sportswear shop in your team's colours is fine as long as you're comfortable in it.

We do sell our own branded kit and training gear made by Hope + Glory, which you can buy here, but it's completely optional.

If you can't attend a game, let your coach and team captain know as soon as you can so they can balance the team accordingly. 

If you're well enough, you can still attend the weekly weigh-in without playing so you can keep track of your weight and contribute to your team's score - remember it's about goals on and off the pitch.

As long as you record your weight prior to the start of your team's weekly fixture, weight loss of any amount can count towards your team's overall score.

To qualify for scoring, your current weight must be both lower than the previous week and lower than your weight at the start of the current season. A qualifying loss of any amount will net your team half a bonus point, which will round up to the nearest whole point when all the bonuses for your team are added together, up to a maximum of 5 bonus points for your team overall. We call this a team bonus.

If you accrue 3 non-consecutive team bonuses in a season, you'll receive an additional full bonus point towards your team's overall score. We call this a hat trick bonus.

If your weight matches or beats one of your precalculated incremental 5% weight loss milestone targets, you'll receive a one-time 3-point bonus for your team in addition to any other team or hat trick bonuses you may have been awarded on the same week. We call this a milestone bonus.

If your weight matches or beats your precalculated target for a healthy BMI of 25 (based on a healthy weight for your height), you'll receive a one-time 3 point bonus. We call this a maintenance bonus.

This means an individual player can score between 0.5 and 4.5 bonus goals via weight loss for their team on any given week.

Points will not be awarded to players whose current weight exceeds their weight at the start of the current season.

Once players drop below their healthy BMI target weight, they graduate to our maintenance scoring system. These players can no longer earn any 3 point bonuses as they no longer have any milestones to reach, so to compensate for this, players in maintenance receive a full 1 point team bonus rather than the 0.5 team bonus players normally receive.

If you're a player in maintenance, you'll receive a 1 point team bonus each week when you log any weight that's under your BMI 25 target, whether it's a loss or a gain against the previous week, or your weight at the start of the season.

Players on maintenance can still acquire hat trick bonuses in the same manner as before, i.e. by scoring 3 non-consecutive team bonuses in the same season.

This varies by club location, but is mostly 3G/4G pitches. We use both indoor and outdoor pitches. 

You'll be told in advance what's at your specific MAN v FAT Football club location.

Why 28 minutes?

Our mission is to support and champion any man worldwide who wants to win his battle with fat and get healthier. Our programme is designed exclusively for overweight and obese men to improve their physical and mental health. It is vital that MAN v FAT Football remains accessible to overweight men who may have even the most basic level of fitness, as the programme is above all, a weight management programme.

Every MAN v FAT Football club in the UK provides 28 minute, small-sided football matches each week, for up to 50 weeks per year. Each team will also be provided with a squad that is bigger than the required team size. This supports in player absences and helps to ensure that players are able to use rolling subs to provide rest periods.

These fundamental elements of our programme are there to protect players from being forced to overexert themselves and potentially reduce the risk of injury.

Where some players may grow in confidence and physical ability, the demand for longer games or less players may also grow. However, it is of the utmost importance that we at MAN v FAT maintain these fundamentals to ensure that the programme is inclusive and accessible to new players at the beginning of their health and weight loss journey. Although in our core MAN v FAT Football programme, these rules will not change from one club to the next. MAN v FAT will always actively encourage additional football across the community. Whether this is through friendly nights organised by players, our official MAN v FAT XI's competition or tournaments and events.  

Games played at your MAN v FAT Football club sessions are set at 28 minutes to give everyone an opportunity to join in, even if they're a total beginner.

If you've been playing for a while and feel comfortable with the idea of playing football for longer, you might want to consider joining a MAN v FAT Football XI team if there's one in your local area. Check out the MAN v FAT Football XIs FAQs below for more information on what this is and how you can join.

There will be times when a club is full, but you can still register for that club to be put on a waiting list. 

When a player achieves his weight loss goals and decides to move on, opening a space up on a team, we'll contact players on the waiting list in order of registration.

If you choose to leave MAN v FAT Football, or your membership lapses, we may immediately offer your place to a new starter to ensure teams continue to have an equal number of players.

If you then decide to come back, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to re-join the team you were in previously. If you'd prefer to re-join your old team, contact us (football@manvfat.com) and let us know and we'll do our best to accommodate your wish.

MAN v FAT Football XIs (also known as MAN v FAT Football 11s or Elevens) is 11-a-side football for MAN v FAT Football members. Participation in MAN v FAT Football XIs is completely optional, but it's perfect for players who are comfortable on the pitch and want more football time.

MAN v FAT Football XIs teams play longer matches in addition to their usual MAN v FAT Football sessions.

MAN v FAT Football XIs is exclusively for MAN v FAT Football members and is not open to anyone who is not a MAN v FAT Football member. This allows us to run safe, supportive, and fun competitions. To be eligible for MAN v FAT Football XIs, you must be a current MAN v FAT Football member, and you must attend at least 1 in 3 sessions at your MAN v FAT Football club.

Head to our dedicated MAN v FAT Football XIs homepage here to register. You'll need to provide a few details and pay an £11.50 registration fee.

You can register throughout the season, but teams must have a minimum of 20 players registered before the season starts to take part.

If you're joining a team that has never taken part in XIs, a team manager will need to be appointed. The team manager will then be the central point of contact for XIs.

Once players have registered, the team's manager will be notified of all players that have registered. The team manager will then register the team with MAN v FAT's XIs system.

If you need any help with this, please email events@manvfat.com

Playing as part of MAN v FAT Football XIs is a little more complex than playing regular MAN v FAT Football. 

As well as ensuring all players register through the MAN v FAT site, teams must be registered with the FA through their Whole Game System. You can find more information about how to do this on the FA's website here.

Teams must first be registered with their local county FA. You can find a list of county FAs on the FA's website here. Affiliation usually opens in June or July, but this can vary by location.

We know this seems complicated if you've not done it before, so don't hesitate to contact us for support on events@manvfat.com

Players must pay an £11.50 annual registration fee to take part in MAN v FAT Football XIs. Registration lasts for one season (August-May inclusive).

If you're not selected as a squad member during the season, you can request a refund of your registration fee. This must be requested by 31st May as all season data is reset after this date, so we're unable to issue a refund after this date.

We have a dedicated Player Support Team who will be happy to help. 

Email: football@manvfat.com

Phone: 0345 163 0042

They're open Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm.