Karl Moresi is coach at the Victoria University of Wellington Association Football Club, and a member of the social team, the UniCycles, and one of the co-founders of More Than a Game, a football team made up of 28 players from different backgrounds, age groups, and teams all across the University.
Karl says the idea for the record attempt came from a throwaway comment at the club rooms.
“The UniCycles were celebrating our tenth anniversary playing together, and I wanted us to leave a legacy that was something a bit different from the usual team trip away.
“Then one day, someone said to me, ‘I just wish we could play forever.’ Next thing I know, I’m on the Guinness World Record website looking at what we could achieve.”
“We decided to try to set the Guinness World Record for the 'Longest Marathon Indoor Football (Soccer) Match’.”
The current record is 36 hours. Karl and the More Than a Game team are planning on beating it by nine, playing for 45 hours on Friday 18 November at the Boyd Wilson Arena on the Kelburn campus.
And for the players, Karl says it truly is more than just a game.
“This team has always been a place where I can go to and feel safe and just have fun. We all wanted to give back to each other, and to our community, which is why we’re using the attempt to raise awareness of mental health services in Aotearoa, and fundraising for Gumboot Friday.”
Russell Pine is an educational psychologist from our Faculty of Health, and one of the players in the team. He says that as the team has grown closer, they’ve been able to have more conversations about their own mental health—and he wants other teams to do the same.
“Sport can be a traditionally masculine space, where you have to be tough or thick skinned—but I hope we can change that.
“It can be an amazing atmosphere, we can make it a positive environment. Having fun, feeling connected and a sense of belonging—it’s all so good for your mental health.
He says choosing Gumboot Friday was a simple choice. The organisation provides free counselling in a timely manner, and Russell says that it’s quite a stripped back initiative, so that all the money the record attempt raises can go directly towards funding counselling sessions to those who need it.
“It means a lot. Sometimes one or two sessions is enough for someone, but $150 a session can be too much. So the amount of money we’re raising, I’m excited to see it put to this use.”
For undergraduate student and team member Elise Mayo, it’s a chance to be part of something bigger.
“Being involved in something that so many people have been in before, following in their footsteps, as well as trying to change people’s lives for the better—it’s a really beautiful thing.”
But the team are under no illusions that the attempt will be easy. Elise says they’re training two to three times a week.
“Some of them go for stretches of three or four hours, and we’ve done a couple of overnighters as well. Building that endurance will be key. But we try to do different aspects of fitness, like boxing or other sport to keep it interesting.”
In terms of logistics on the day, Elise says they’ve split into two teams, with groups within each team to play for four hours on and four hours off.
“When you’re off, it’s icing, stretching, getting some carbs in you, and having a nap. We’ve got massage guns, foam rollers, even a little corner with printed out yoga poses to stretch and keep ourselves fresh.”
They all agree that the biggest challenge on the day will be the mental game, but Karl isn’t worried.
“This whole year, we’ve not just built a football team, we’ve built a family. The more and more we bond over the weeks, the more we realise that we can do this.”
You can donate to the record attempt on their website and read more from Elise on our student blog website.