This footy super fan has been living every stadium-lover’s dream by visiting over 150 grounds from around the world – and he has been collecting badges from them all.
The Stafford Rangers fan originally just stuck to following his own team around the UK, but he soon developed a passion for ticking off new footy grounds, so he decided to do more.
Alex Wickett, from Stafford, UK, has travelled to some of the most well known grounds in 11 countries across the world, from Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr FC, to Matlock Town.
Alex’s badge collection has grown so big he has two dedicated pin boards to remember every single one.
He said: “Up until last year, I kept them all on a scarf but was after a more visual display.
“I have both a UK and a Europe pin badge board where I store all my badges and have now been to 153 grounds, in 11 different countries and looking forward to ticking off more!”
Alex praises the football community and his hobby as a big mental health game changer for him.
He added: “For 90 minutes, no matter where in the world you are at whatever level you feel like you are part of something bigger.
“Even if you can’t speak the language, you share the emotions.”
From eight-years-old, Alex has been a big fan of footy grounds and loved travelling to them while supporting Stafford Rangers on their away trips.
After becoming an adult, he decided to take his groundhopping ventures more seriously, and with his trusty car, he aimed to visit as many stadiums as he could across the UK.
Soon after he decided to take his stadium-visiting antics abroad to try and experience how other countries compare and has never looked back since.
He’s now checked Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Czechia, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Austria off his groundhopping list.
Alex has even managed to get involved in the Euros, visiting some of the best that Germany has to offer, including the memorable game at the Signal Iduna Park, Borussia Dortmund’s home.
The core memory of Ollie Watkins scoring an emphatic winner against the Netherlands will live forever in his head.
In honour of all the grounds that he has visited, Alex proudly documents his pin board and travels from across the world on his social media.
Alex said: “I’ve been going home and away to my local non-league team, Stafford Rangers, since I was eight. This was when I started collecting pin badges.
“As I got older, I started to branch out and ground hop more as a neutral.
“I think this is generally seen as an older man’s hobby, but I love to see new grounds and new teams because you always feel part of something for those 90 minutes.”
Alex was overwhelmed by the support of his hobby on social media and his lack of confidence to create his online time capsule was squashed.
He said: “The support has been overwhelming, comments filled with people asking me to go to their teams and get a badge!
“My family is also very supportive of me going and chasing my dreams of going to these games.”
Here’s a list of Alex’s favourite stadiums that he has visited:
1: Stadio Luigi Ferrari – Sampdoria 9.8/10
2: Signal Iduna Park – Borussia Dortmund 9.7/10
3 Epat Arena – Sparta Prague 9.5/10
4: Stadio Olimpico – Lazio 9.3/10
5: Camp Nou – Barcelona 9.1/10
6: Mestalla – Valencia 9/10
7: Al Awwal Stadium – Al Nassr 8.8/10
8: Marston Road – Stafford Rangers 8.7/10
9: Deustche Bank Park – Frankfurt – 8.5/10
10: Causeway Lane – Matlock Town fc 8.4/10