Wigan fan to cycle to 92 football league clubs in memory of late uncle

A man is to cycle to all 92 clubs in the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) within 50 days in memory of his uncle, who died from prostate cancer.

Matt Jopson, 31, from Newton-le-Willows in Merseyside, is aiming to cycle to all of the clubs across England and Wales within the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.

The challenge, which he has named Cycle 92, began on Sunday at Wigan Athletic FC, the team Mr Jopson supports, and finishes on May 18 at Goodison Park, home to Everton, which is the team his uncle, Terry Jopson, supported.

The ski instructor will carry his own camping gear, clothing and other essential supplies weighing 25kg and cover around 2,500 miles (4,023 km) in 50 days while raising money for Prostate Cancer UK and the Queenscourt Hospice in Southport, where his uncle received end-of-life care.

Mr Jopson’s uncle died in 2023, but he and his partner lived and travelled in Japan and New Zealand during that time and only last week came home to prepare for the challenge.

“(The challenge) was just a seed of an idea I had, and everything has come together. The stadium is being finished, and we’re coming home… we got back (from New Zealand) last week,” he told the PA news agency.

“(My uncle) passed away two years ago from prostate cancer, and I was in Japan at the time with my partner, and we were doing a winter (ski) season, so I’ve not really been able to come home and see family properly since.”

His challenge began at Wigan, and he will cycle north east towards Newcastle before heading south along the east of England, where he will reach his halfway mark in London.

The latter half of his challenge will cover the south coast towards Plymouth before heading to Wales, Oxford, Birmingham and north to Liverpool.

The final day of his challenge will mark Everton’s final game at Goodison Park before it relocates to its new home at Bramley-Moore Dock, which Mr Jopson described as “wholesome” given his uncle was a lifelong supporter of Everton.

“I finish on the 18th May, which I’ve constructed in a really wholesome way because it’s the day of the final game Everton play at Goodison,” he said.

Mr Jopson said his uncle lived with prostate cancer for 15 years and died two years ago, aged 71, from the disease.

“It was relatively stable, I think, for the 15 years that he had it, then all of a sudden it accelerated,” he said.

“He didn’t make a big deal of it whatsoever. He wouldn’t mention it, brushed over it and kept cracking on.”

He hopes his challenge, which he is aiming to complete on a budget of £20 a day, will help encourage men to see their GP to receive regular prostate checks.

“People’s symptoms can go unknown. It doesn’t need to be men of a certain age or a certain health bracket. (Prostate cancer) doesn’t discriminate whatsoever,” Mr Jopson said.

“I think there’s just a stigma and a taboo about men getting checked because it is quite invasive.

“Everyone needs to keep an eye on it and not be afraid to go and get tested because you’ll only end up regretting it.”

Mr Jopson is no stranger to long-distance challenges having cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats, covering 1,000 miles in nine days, but said he is “really excited” to see all 92 football clubs.

“Getting on the roads and going into the unknown, I find it really exciting and seeing these grounds is a privilege,” he said.

He said he was initially nervous about publicising his challenge but felt it was necessary to raise awareness about prostate cancer while honouring his uncle.

“I’ve never been brave enough to properly chase the publicity and really get people’s support. But I thought with this one I can’t not,” he said.