A group of colleagues at UM Terminals’ Liverpool sites are doing their bit to encourage health and wellbeing by running a regular football team.

For the past 18 months, they have got into the routine of getting together each Thursday to play 5-a-side games.

The core group consists of Duncan Wilkinson, UM Terminals’ Mersey Site Controller, along with Lewis Chambers, David Garvey, Jamie Clintworth, Maddy France, Tate France and Geoff Groom.

From time to time, they are joined by colleagues from elsewhere in the UM Group including Adam Pierce, Business Intelligence Developer, and Harry Lawson, IT Systems Administrator, and others who may be in Liverpool on business.

The inspiration for the football team emanated from last year’s Great Molasses Challenge which saw UM colleagues across the Group raise over £33,000 for the charity Farm Africa.

The money was generated thanks to colleagues running, walking, playing football, cycling, rowing, swimming and going on dog walks, all with the aim of clocking up as many miles as possible.

Every single contribution, big or small, got the team closer to the target distance of 4820 miles (7712km) which represented the distance of the first ever UM molasses shipment in 1912 from the Dominican Republic to Hull.

Duncan said: “After we had played football as part of the Great Molasses Challenge, a few of us were chatting at work and thought it would be a nice idea to make it a more regular activity, something outside of work and good for fitness.

“Some of the guys had played for teams in the past, while others just liked the idea of doing something social away from the office.

“We’ve played most weeks now for the last 18 months with the opposition often being made up of friends and family.

“We play at the Soccer Dome in Wirral and UM has been very supportive, supplying kits. The games are competitive and we’re talking about perhaps entering a league from next year.

“Some of the guys have also started playing golf outside of work and this is something we are also hoping to build on when the weather gets better.”