Spanish football fan travels 1,000 miles to watch Alfreton Town FC on his stag do - and is made mascot

A Spanish football fan travelled more than 1,000 miles to the UK to watch non-league Alfreton Town on his stag do – and was made team mascot.
By Sophie Watson
Published 27th Mar 2023, 16:37 BST
Updated 27th Mar 2023, 16:37 BST
Cristóbal Novo Gonzalvo, second right, became Alferton’s mascot for the day, after traveled from Spain to the non-league football club for his stag party.Cristóbal Novo Gonzalvo, second right, became Alferton’s mascot for the day, after traveled from Spain to the non-league football club for his stag party.
Cristóbal Novo Gonzalvo, second right, became Alferton’s mascot for the day, after traveled from Spain to the non-league football club for his stag party.

Cristóbal Novo Gonzalvo, 34, first became a fan of the Derbyshire side after playing them on the computer game Football Manager.

The long-time fan travelled 1,074 miles (1,729km) to watch the National League team play on his stag do on March 4.

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As a surprise, the team even arranged for the car engineer to be club mascot when the team played Darlington at Alfreton's Impact Arena Stadium.

Cristóbal Novo Gonzalvo, 34, first became a fan of the Derbyshire side after playing them on the computer game Football ManagerCristóbal Novo Gonzalvo, 34, first became a fan of the Derbyshire side after playing them on the computer game Football Manager
Cristóbal Novo Gonzalvo, 34, first became a fan of the Derbyshire side after playing them on the computer game Football Manager

After watching his heroes draw 2-2, Cristóbal and his pals had a tour of the stadium and enjoyed post-match beers with the players.

Cristóbal, who lives in Barcelona, opted to manage Alfreton Town on the Football Manager game after he visited the town on holiday 12 years ago.

He said: “I was on holiday and I came to the town. It was wonderful and I fell in love right away. As soon as I got home I made them my team on Football Manager. I don’t really know why I love the team so much.

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“It could be the red strip they play in or their original name or the fact that they are a small town so far away from me, I just love them. I have been successful on the game but I wanted to see them in real life.

“It was a brilliant day. The game was very entertaining and I was honoured to me made a mascot for the day. It was a crazy thing to happen. The last time I came to the town was three years, just before Covid.

“I was so desperate to see the town again my friends arranged for me to come over for the game. My friends were impressed with the kindness of the people. They know that I like Alfreton and we have friends there and they decided to go for my stag there.

Cristóbal will tie the knot with fiancée Elena Villar, 33, on April 15. He said: "My future wife knows about me and my crazy problem with football and also Alfreton. I have already said we will go together to watch Alfreton next season so hopefully they will win."

Related topics:Football ManagerDerbyshire