Soccer fans are joining a new South Florida league where the only way to score is to lose weight

South Florida soccer fans are using their love of the sport to get off the couch and on the pitch but the only way to win the encounter they are playing is to lose Heather Walker explains in this Spotlight Monday nights at Brian Piccolo Park are all about soccer These guys are doing more than just playing for fun they re playing to lose Igor Felicioni And I ve lost since I ve started I ve lost about pounds Mario Fernandez I ve lost The players are all members of the MAN v FAT sports league It helps men improve their vitality by playing weekly soccer games The effort started years ago in the United Kingdom It forthwith became a hit with guys who needed to have a fun and easy way to improve their robustness Richard Crick These aren t the guys that are looking for the perfect diet They definitely just need to reduce their calorie intake lower their snacks less takeaways less alcohol more physical activity more walking Last year organizers took MAN v FAT to South Florida MAN v FAT Broward as of now has four teams made up of men of all ages Players have to be at least years old and be considered clinically overweight They don t need to know how to play they just have to be willing to get up and get current Richard Crick And they re all united by that fact of looking after each other and losing specific weight getting out and having fun Igor Felicioni plays several positions for his gang Ozempic Lyon He announced his family is his biggest reason for taking on the challenge of getting into shape Igor Felicioni I just want to hang out with my son more And I get tired when I play with him and you know I figured I need to be there The players are all weighed before each tournament For every two players that lose weight an extra point is added to their unit s tally in the match It s a way for all players to help their group win even if they don t make a single goal Mario Fernandez For us for the ones of us that don t tally various goals it s a way to contribute to the crew as well Sixty-year-old Mario Fernandez never played soccer before joining MAN v FAT Joining Group A C Milan was the perfect fit because it s helping him control his diabetes Mario Fernandez I m in the pre-diabetic range now so that s been a big plus And losing weight is great I feel so much better Coach Felipe Herrmann tracks the players weight each week He disclosed at the beginning of the season various of them were dealing with depression and cut themselves off from the world Felipe Herrmann They were not able to go in inhabitants places because they felt bad about it They weren t able to go the gym because they feel that they re being judged by that But as the pounds fall off their self-esteem goes up Felipe Herrmann But the good story is that now most of of them are getting back to normal lives They re able to go to the beach go to clubs go to the gym The players also gain a crew of supportive friends they look forward to seeing every week Mario Fernandez You know friendships that we ve made and the pounds that we ve lost So far MAN v FAT Broward has collectively dropped over pounds in two seasons It shows that sometimes the best way to win is to lose Heather Walker News MAN v FAT has also started teams in Miami-Dade For more information on the MAN v FAT league click here If you know of a person place or group that you think we should highlight email us at spotlight wsvn com