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Football globetrotter hits 1,000th ground milestone – at Invergordon v Golspie Sutherland

From left: John Taylor, Chris Roberts, Mark Barton and Bruce Baskerville make Invergordon the 1,000th ground for Chris.
From left: John Taylor, Chris Roberts, Mark Barton and Bruce Baskerville make Invergordon the 1,000th ground for Chris.

An unexpected call-off didn’t deter a football fan from England from reaching a remarkable 1,000th ground milestone in the Highlands after a global adventure spanning decades.

Former referee Chris Roberts from Chesterfield has been all around the world, visiting 55 countries in total from South America to Australia and throughout Europe, racking up matches, which he admits with a smile is almost an obsession.

In total, he’s taken in almost 2,000 games over the years.

The appeal of taking in North Caledonian League football in the far north of Scotland saw Chris and his group of friends, which includes fellow official Bruce Baskerville, and John Taylor, Mark Barton and Phillip Smith, visit Thurso last summer.

Chris calculated a return trip north to see Alness United host Orkney last month would be the 1,000th ground he had visited to watch a game.

Dramatically, that league match was called off only after the visitors had arrived to what what the ground-hoppers say was a perfectly playable pitch.

They were stunned, like Orkney were, by the decision, but hastily got plan B into action and attended Invergordon against champions Golspie Sutherland instead.

Such has been the welcome in Scotland for Chris and his pals, they are now firmly focused on taking in two North Caley grounds per year, with a welcome mat from their friends at Orkney already in place for September.

Thurso appeal kicked off north trips

Chris, 63, explained how the North Caledonian League first captured his attention.

He said: “Myself and three of my pals came up to Thurso in June, because it is the most northerly football ground in mainland UK. It had always been on my to-do list.

“We came up for the weekend for Thurso against Invergordon. It was a fantastic weekend, with Thurso winning 3-1.”

A chance conversation with the Thurso chairman then led to Chris having the idea to take in an Orkney game in the near future – with the ground-hoppers marking Alness United v Orkney in December on their calendar.

Chris added: “I spoke to the chairman of Thurso, who said they were playing Orkney at the weekend.

“One of my pals, who lives in Inverness, and I used to work for Royal Mail until we retired and I found out the Orkney manager (Charlie Alway) worked for Royal Mail.

“When I knew I was getting close to the 1,000th ground, I realised it would be on my Scottish trip (in December) and we would meet the lads from Orkney.

“We turned up at Alness to turn out the game was cancelled.

“The journey from Chesterfield to Inverness took 11 hours, including a couple of stops. We stayed in Inverness for the night before travelling to Alness the next morning.”

Invergordon game saves the big day – with generous hosts marking occasion

Chris was gutted to only find out about the December 11 postponement on arrival and, with his referee’s hat on, he felt the game should never have been wiped out as he thought the pitch was playable.

He said: “I was distraught that the game was postponed, although we had a couple of back-ups.

“We knew Invergordon, which was not far away, kicked off at 1pm, although we’d have to leave a little bit early because we had tickets for Ross County v Dundee at 3pm.

Chris Roberts with Brazilian legend Carlos Alberto pictured at the Brazil v Argentina World Cup qualifying game in 2008 at the Mineiro Stadium in Bel Horizonte.

All was not lost and they made the short journey to Invergordon.

Despite a goalless draw, the host club were fascinated to learn this was Chris’ 1,000th ground. His Futbology (Groundhopper) app proved it, showing a record of his global adventures.

He explained: “I told them it was my 1,000th ground and they presented us all with hats and scarves with the Invergordon badges on them. It was such a generous gesture – it was magnificent.

“Invergordon were outstanding hosts.

Orkney manager Charlie Alway was given Chesterfield FC lager as a “man of the match” gesture from the visiting fans after the Alness match was called off.

“When we come up, we bring beer which is branded with our local football team, Chesterfield. One of the biggest supporters of the club down here owns a brewery, so bring a selection up and give it to the man of the match.

“We did that at Thurso, which went down well, but on Saturday, we felt Orkney manager Charlie Alway deserved it. He perhaps needed it to calm down.”

Chris added: “We have promised Orkney next September we will come up there.

“We have built up a great rapport with Orkney, Invergordon and Thurso from our time up there.”

Refereeing was start of ‘hopping’ tally

Former Royal Mail safety manager Chris forged friendships in Inverness through his work over the years when it took him to the Highlands.

As a referee, the stadia he visited racked up and that’s where the first steps of keeping tabs on the tally began.

He added: “Ground-hopping for myself started from when I was an official at Football League grounds. Bit by bit, I would say: ‘I’ve done 20 grounds’ and it stemmed from there.

“I then aimed to do the 92.

Chris Roberts at the Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium – home of Tianjin Tianhai FC in the Chinese Super League.

“When I did that, I wanted to do the National League and you look at the Northern Counties League and it soon becomes, well, I wouldn’t call it an obsession… it snowballed from there.”

He added: “We had been to China just before the Covid outbreak. And we did two weeks in China, travelling by train to 12 grounds.

“We’ve been to South Korea, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, all over Europe, probably around 20 countries there, as well as Australia. If I am planning a holiday, my first thought is ‘where can I see a game?’.”

Gifts for hosts often taken on travels

Chris also likes to spread a little cheer – and not just beer – when he goes abroad in particular.

He highlighted examples, saying: “Sometimes I will take a gift with me. When I went to Chile, for example, I got Manchester City and United pennants.

“No matter where you are in the world, people know these clubs. I always look for a little kid who I can give them to.

A young Uruguayan supporter at the 2018 FIFA World Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay,

“When I went to the Euro ‘96 final, I bought a Germany/Czech Republic half-and-half scarf because I was a neutral. When I went to Berlin a few years ago to watch England play, I took this scarf with me and gave it to a little lad who had a load of scarves on him.

“I look in my collection and take something with me, so they might just remember a crazy Englishman visiting their grounds.

“Once, before I went to Ecuador, I asked my work colleagues if they had any football shirts I could take over. I ended up with around 30 shirts on holiday.

“I visited a school in the Andes and handed them out to the kids. That was a special moment.”

Twelve years absence before return

Two football tragedies almost put Chris off the game for good.

He said: “Since I retired five years ago, I have done 450 grounds.

“I fell out of love with football after the Heysel Stadium disaster and the Bradford City fire (both in 1985). I didn’t go to a game for about 12 years.

“About 20 years ago, for my birthday, my wife bought me a ticket for Burnley v Chesterfield. I had never been to Burnley – it was a fantastic day and I felt like I wanted to do it again.

Chris Roberts and Bruce Baskerville with Orkney FC, who were heading back home after their fixture at Alness was called off on December 11.

“I watched Chesterfield home and away for around 15 years. When we fell out of the Football League, I thought I’d try to do some other grounds.”

More fans heading north next year

When Chris’ group visit the north of Scotland next year, their numbers seem certain to be bolstered, with several people expressing an interest in joining them on their ground-notching quest.

Chris said: “Five of us normally go.

“We’re actually looking to hire a minibus next year because a few others would love to join us. We might have eight to 10 coming up.

“When I worked for Royal Mail, I would come up to Inverness for a month. I had friendships with some of the lads, so when we come up, I let them know we are on our way and we stop over, visiting the Black Isle Bar in Inverness – as it’s the only place we know that does black pudding pizza.

“If they can get to the game, we take them along with us. One of them, Jeff Heaphey, came to Alness with us in December.

“I have only been at a match at two North Caledonian League grounds. I have visited a few, but I have only been to games at Thurso and Invergordon.

“We were at Alness and we visited Fortrose where Loch Ness play.

“We will do a match at each ground over the next 10 years or whatever it takes.”