Fans visit 20 stadia in 24 hours

Some 20 stadiums, 900 miles and 21 hours later, they completed their ambitious jaunt – and have the pictures to prove it.

The parents and managers of Rowley Rangers FC raised a four-figure sum which will be split between paying for a football holiday for the youngsters and Acorns Children's Hospice. The gang of 12 set off on their journey at 4am on Saturday.

They started at Portsmouth's Fratton Park, the most southerly of the Premiership sides, and worked their way up to St James's Park, where Newcastle United play.

The final stop was Villa Park before heading for Sandwell Valley to watch the Rangers' own Sunday match kick-off at 10.30am.

Rowley Rangers' club secretary Andy Howells said they had a perfect run and even had time to squeeze in a photograph outside the new Wembley Stadium on the day it hosted its first sporting event, the England v Italy Under-21s match.

He said: "The ground we enjoyed the most had to be Everton's. We were taking pictures at the entrances to clubs to prove we'd been there but at Goodison Park a security guard took us round the ground, then switched on the floodlights and let us take the photo on the pitch. That was special."

Fortunately no added time was needed, even taking into account the loss of an hour as the clocks went forward.

Nor was injury time necessary. And they're thinking of doing it all over again next year – this time in Spain, visiting all the stadiums in the elite La Liga division.

And the Rowley Rangers match against Brandhall Colts East that the gang were rushing back to see? It was called off when only three of their players turned up. Andy said: "We could have had a lie-in."