Sodexo Ireland scores Guinness World Record for longest 5-a-side

Two teams from Sodexo Ireland, based in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, have played their way into the Guinness World Records book for the longest five-a-side football match ever.

They played a 53 hour non-stop competitive game boasting a final score of 695-601 in aid of three Irish charities, the Irish Cancer Society, Barnardos and St Vincent de Paul.

The match, which was played from 21-23 June 2013 at the Nagle Rice Sports Complex in Portlaoise, was verified by Guinness World Records following a detailed submission of supporting evidence in print and video. The Sodexo Ireland teams beat the existing Guinness World Record of 43 hours by a comfortable margin, despite two players dropping out due to injury early on. They also beat the unofficial world record of 52 hours which was set in the UK last year but never verified.

The challenge was organised to raise much-needed funds for the three Irish charities supported by Sodexo’s global STOP Hunger campaign. €18,000 has been raised to date and any donations to help them reach their goal of €20,000 would be greatly appreciated. You can still donate here.

Andrew McGinley, one of the organisers, said: “We had to play competitively throughout because that’s a key requirement and believe me,  that was pretty tough going in the early hours of the morning after 40-odd hours on your feet!  We’re over the moon at the result and a huge vote of thanks, not only to the players who put in so much effort, but for the overwhelming support from dozens of work colleagues who travelled from all over the country to lend a hand. It would be the icing on the cake if we hit our final goal of €20,000 for the three charities.”

Margot Slattery, managing director of Sodexo Ireland, said: “Fantastic achievement by all concerned and let’s hope the record stands for a very long time to come! On behalf of the company, my sincere thanks most of all to the players for their heroic efforts as well as to all the staff volunteers, family and friends who supported them during the past few months in this extremely gruelling challenge for three very worthwhile charities.”

Sodexo, the world’s largest services company, manages workplace restaurants and facilities management for clients in business and industry, healthcare and education. It employs around 1800 people in 180 site locations nationwide.