Gary Thorn and Craig Leitch (pictured) outline how the teams are helping players lose weight and improve their mental wellbeing.
By Megan Bonar
BBC Scotland News
There’s something very different about the men taking part in Scotland’s Warriors Premier League – every player is overweight.
In fact, it’s a condition of participation. They must have a waist of at least 38in (96cm) or a BMI of over 30, making them clinically obese.
The final match of the season last weekend saw the Ayr Eagles take on Corstorphine Dynamos Goliaths for the coveted league title.
But for the 500 men involved in the league – which includes teams like Monster Munchen and Alloa Unathletic – the trophy isn’t the only reward.
The Ayr Eagles took home the league trophy on the last day of the season
Gary Thorn, the league’s founder and chairperson, told BBC Scotland News it was helping players lose weight and improve their mental wellbeing.
“We know for a fact that this is actually saving people’s lives,” he said. “We’ve got guys in our team who have openly said to us that they wouldn’t be here without the football.
“Guys are getting fitter, guys are getting happier. They’re making new friendships, new relationships and new experiences for a lot of people.”
Gary Thorn founded the league after being unable to find competitors for his team
He added: “My own club, the Denny Warriors, started three years ago and that was all about getting men out and about, meeting new people, reducing their isolation and improving their physical and mental wellbeing.”
But when they wanted to turn competitive, they found it hard to find opponents who were playing at a similar level.
“We didn’t want the guys to get disheartened,” he said, and from there the Warriors Premier League was born.
Fast forward to August 2023, and 12 teams are coming to the end of a highly competitive season, with just three points separating the top three teams.
The teams competing for the league trophy at Townhead Park in Cumnock on Sunday were level on points, with the Eagles only slightly ahead on goal difference.
Stuart Chalmers is the team captain and centre back at Ayr Eagles, the only Ayrshire team in the league.
His amateur footballing career was hindered by two bad knee injuries which, combined with working a desk job, led to both his fitness and mental health taking a knock.
“Growing up playing football and always being part of a team, I missed that environment so the chance to get back out on a pitch, back with a good bunch of lads again and back playing football again was great,” he said.
Stuart Chalmers says the league has allowed him to get back into competitive sport
Stuart said that for men like him, there’s often a lack of opportunities to get back into sport.
He added: “There wasn’t really a level for myself and my teammates, this was a chance to get back on the football pitch and back playing competitive football again.
“Your confidence goes down, the confidence in your body to be able to perform, and run and keep fit, it hinders you big time.
“The slower pace this team choose and the league choose has made it far easier for me to come back into exercise than any other environment.
“It’s the only league in Scotland where you need a pair of scales,” Stuart joked.
He said there had been occasions during the year that pre-match weigh-ins had been called if a team was looking “too slim”.
But players aren’t punished for losing weight. Teams are also allowed to field four players with a smaller BMI, as long as they are over 30 years old.
Craig Leitch has met some of his best mates through the team
Craig Leitch, a midfielder for the Corstorphine Dynamo Goliath, said the league had helped him find the confidence he lost during the pandemic.
He said: “Coming out of Covid I was finding it tough to reintegrate back into normal society, trying to get back to where I was before. It was quite daunting going to the first training session.
“I had thought about wanting to play football again so I had been looking at teams in the Edinburgh area and when I saw it was specifically for guys that were carrying a wee bit of extra timber I felt like that suited me.
“The support network has been brilliant, I’ve only known them for a year, but I’ve got some of my best mates in the team. It would mean a lot to us if we could win it, but it would hold a special personal satisfaction for me.”
On the day, it wasn’t to be for Craig’s team with the Ayr Eagles coming out on top, winning the game 3-1.
Next year, the Warriors Premier League is set to introduce a championship league, welcoming about 10 new teams to the fold.
