The Longest Real-Life Journeys to See Football Manager Saves

Football Manager has always been dangerous. After enough seasons, the fictional version of a football club can start to feel uncomfortably real.  You can learn the squad. You remember the stadium name. You develop irrational loyalty to an amateur leftback. Then, one day, you are checking flight prices to a town you had never heard of before this game put it in your life. 

That is exactly what happened to Andrea Lai, a 39-year-old from Imola in Italy, who travelled to Northern Ireland to watch Coleraine after falling in love with the club through Football Manager. Lai had picked Coleraine at random seven years earlier and spent seasons managing them in-game. In real life, he travelled roughly 1,600km to see them face Glentoran, watched them win 6-2, secure second place and qualify for next season’s Conference League qualifiers, then met players and staff afterwards.

It sounds mad. It is also far from the only time this has happened. I’ve had a look into the craziest journeys done in the name of Football Manager. 

1. Huang Wenbin – China to Runcorn Linnets

The longest confirmed Football Manager-style pilgrimage I found belongs to Huang Wenbin, a Chinese fan from Xiamen who travelled to England to visit Runcorn Linnets after managing the club on Championship Manager 01/02.

This one technically comes from the Championship Manager era, before the modern Football Manager name, but it absolutely belongs here. Huang had managed Runcorn FC Halton, as the club were then known, and taken them to absurd virtual heights, signing players like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Roberto Carlos in-game. Years later, that attachment was strong enough for him to travel to Runcorn with his family.

It was a 12,000-mile pilgrimage, effectively a 6,000-mile journey each way. He did not end up watching a match, but he did get a tour of the Millbank Linnets Stadium, met club chairman Mark Buckley and his son was even able to have a kickabout on the pitch. Huang said he had first decided to find Runcorn in 2015 after spotting the name while travelling by train to Liverpool for Steven Gerrard’s final Anfield match.

That makes it arguably the gold standard of Football Manager devotion: not Barcelona, not Real Madrid, not Manchester United. Runcorn Linnets. 

 

2. Lindsey Ansbro – New York to Treaty United

Another huge one came from the League of Ireland. Lindsey Ansbro, from Owego in New York State, reportedly travelled around 5,000km to watch Treaty United after discovering the club on Football Manager.

She had started a save with Treaty United after buying the game, became attached to the club and made sure to catch them while she was in Ireland for a cousin’s wedding. The match was against Cork City at Turners Cross on 24 May 2024 and finished 1-1. She also met the players afterwards, including favourite player Willie Armshaw. Treaty United themselves posted about meeting her and described the journey as 5,000km. Incredible dedication and one of the best examples of building a real emotional link from a digital save.

 

3. Ian Webb – Tennessee to Wakefield AFC

Ian Webb’s Wakefield AFC story is possibly the most Football Manager story of the lot, because it has the one thing every lower-league save needs… chaos.

Webb, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, became attached to Wakefield AFC through a long-term FM save. He explained that he had taken Wakefield into the EFL by 2052 and the Premier League by 2063, while also following the real-life club and appearing on the fan podcast “All Wakey Aren’t We”.

He then planned a real-life trip around seeing them play. The headlines at the time said he had spent around £4,500 and travelled roughly 4,000 miles, but Webb later clarified that the trip was a wider two-week holiday across England and the Netherlands, not just a single-match mission. Still, he admitted the trip had been planned around seeing his “beloved obscure FM club” in real life.

The brutal part? The game he originally planned around was postponed because of fixture congestion, and the backup match was then lost to a waterlogged pitch. So he travelled thousands of miles for his Football Manager club and still did not actually see them play. He did, however, get a stadium tour and planned to return.

 

4. James Hammonds – South Shields to Grindavík

In March 2023, James Hammonds from South Shields travelled to Iceland with his wife and young daughter after developing a soft spot for Grindavík through Football Manager.

His wife had picked the Icelandic second-tier club at random for his save, and after a few in-game months he had grown attached enough to visit the town and stadium during a family trip. The journey to south-west Iceland was 2600 miles.

Hammonds had taken Grindavík to success in-game, including European qualification, but the best part of the real-life story came when he arrived at the ground. He had messaged the club on the off-chance someone might be around. A woman came out of the clubhouse and shouted, “Are you the guy?” before giving him a pin badge and introducing him to the club’s general manager.

 

5. Andrea Lai – Imola to Coleraine

The newest viral example is Andrea Lai and Coleraine.

Lai had been playing Football Manager for nearly 20 years and chose Coleraine seven years ago while looking for a random semi-professional challenge. He said he became attached to the club through dealing with the players, part-time contracts and the long-term virtual story of taking them to success. In his save, he reportedly won the league twice, lifted the Irish Cup, and led Coleraine into Europe.

The real-life timing could hardly have been better. Lai travelled alone from Italy to Northern Ireland for Coleraine’s final league game of the season against Glentoran. Coleraine won 6-2, finished second, and booked a Conference League qualifying place. He then met players, including hat-trick scorer Will Patching, and manager Ruaidhri Higgins.

The reported distance varies slightly depending on whether outlets describe it as “more than 1,000 miles”, “over 2,000km” or around 1,600km, but the heart of the story is clear enough: a man from northern Italy crossed Europe because a Northern Irish club had become part of his life through Football Manager.

 

6. Jedd Cooley – Wiltshire to San Donato Tavarnelle

Cooley, from Wiltshire, travelled 1,098 miles to Tuscany to watch San Donato Tavarnelle, a Serie C side he had discovered on Football Manager. He chose them because they wore the same colours as his amateur club, Dilton Marsh Wanderers, then took them from Serie C to Champions League glory in-game.

After contacting the club on Instagram to ask about buying a shirt, he stayed in touch and eventually visited with his wife Lucy for their match against Siena. He met club figures including president Andrea Bacci and honorary president Fabrizio Fusi, as well as staff and players. The match finished 1-1, but Cooley described it as unforgettable.

 

7. Cristóbal Novo Gonzalvo – Barcelona to Alfreton Town

Cristóbal Novo Gonzalvo’s Alfreton Town story might be the best stag-do idea ever produced by Football Manager.

The Spanish engineer and his mates travelled from Barcelona to Derbyshire to watch Alfreton Town face Darlington in March 2023. The trip was 1,074 miles, or 1,729km. Cristóbal had originally visited Alfreton on holiday 12 years earlier, then made them his Football Manager club when he got home.

His friends built his stag do around the trip. Alfreton made him mascot for the day, he watched a 2-2 draw, went on the pitch, met the manager, toured the stadium and had beers with the players afterwards. He also said his future wife knew that trips to Alfreton were simply “part of the deal”.

That may be the purest summary of Football Manager devotion ever written.

 

So what is the longest Football Manager journey?

Based on everything I found, the longest overall Football Manager-related pilgrimage appears to be Huang Wenbin’s China-to-Runcorn trip, reported as a 12,000-mile round trip, although he visited the club rather than watched a match.

For fans who actually watched a match, the strongest confirmed contenders are Lindsey Ansbro’s 5,000km trip to see Treaty United and Andrea Lai’s Italy-to-Coleraine journey, depending on whether you count trips made specifically for the club or trips folded into a wider holiday.

 

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