Football fan travelling 8,500 miles for Altrincham friendly in Whitchurch

But one fan of a non-league side has been making an extra special effort to see his team play by travelling 8,500 miles to Shropshire.

Mark Buckton has travelled from Taiwan to watch his side Altrincham play a pre-season friendly against North West Counties first division side Whitchurch Alport on Saturday.

He has travelled from the Taiwan capital Taipei to Heathrow via Kuala Lumpur, to ensure he can take his place at Yockings Park for the 3pm kick-off.

For good measure, the 46-year old, accompanied by his wife Ching Yeh, is marking his first visit home in nine years by sponsoring the game.

"I'm quite impulsive, so when my wife asked whether I'd like to see England again, back in January, I said yes, and we booked the flights there and then," he said.

"It was only after it was all sorted, and I looked at the dates, 14 or 15 days apart, that I thought, 'Hang on, I don't even know whether Alty are playing then'.

"It was quite an anxious wait, monitoring twitter for the pre-season fixtures, and it came as a relief when I finally realised I could make the Whitchurch game.

"Ideally, it would have been a game at Moss Lane, and I know we've got Stockport at home the following Tuesday but, unfortunately, I can't make that one, because we've already booked accommodation in Loch Lomond.

"I've got to be fair to the Mrs; there's got to be a bit of give and take! Whitchurch is fine, though. We're due at my sister's in the Altrincham area on Thursday, so we'll have a couple of days to unwind before the game, then we'll head up to Scotland for some sight-seeing.

"I had not heard of Whitchurch before, I was in the army 40 years so we did training exercise in the Shropshire area but I have never visited Whitchurch.

"I am excited. It is going to be a new experience for me. I always like visiting new football grounds.

"Ching Yeh, my wife, said there is probably some men out there who will now use what I have done as an excuse so they can follow their football team thousands of miles.

"I just thought it would be a nice touch to sponsor the game. I'm no millionaire. It's not exactly on the scale of Lord Sugar! It's just a 50 quid thing, but I get to meet the captains and have my picture taken with them, so I'm looking forward to that. I mean, even if we lose, I'll have it in my head that I've sponsored an Alty game, so it will be worth every penny."

Mr Buckton is in the UK for two weeks but says his "wife didn't know but I planned the schedule around the whole game".

He added: "It is my first visit in nine years and I'm going to show my wife England and North Wales, but essential to the trip was that game.

"It has been a long wait to see Alty in action again, but everything is planned for Saturday. The game is the main thing, and I'm hoping there's plenty that's positive for the manager to take out of it, then it's back to Altrincham in the evening for a catch-up with some old school pals. A special day, I hope. I'm sure it will be."