Fundraising virtual manager guest of honour at Fort FC
Two worlds collided on Saturday as a virtual manager of Fort William Football Club met the real thing when he appeared as a guest of honour at Claggan Park.
Having raised £5,065 through his huge online following, Football Manager fanatic Jon Cox was invited to Claggan Park on Saturday to present a cheque to real-life manager Russell MacMorran.
Jon, who has tens of thousands of views on his YouTube channel under the alias Loki Doki, documented the highs and lows of his virtual football management career at Fort William FC in the computer game. After achieving the impossible in securing Fort William’s promotion from the Highland League to League One in the virtual world, he turned his attention to reality and began fundraising for the struggling Highland League club.
The campaign proved far more successful than anyone first imagined, with Jon’s dedicated subscriber fan base digging deep for the Fort.
Jon’s appearance at the club wasn’t dampened by the lack of onfield action, the match against Forres Mechanics having been postponed as a result of a waterlogged pitch.
As part of a BBC documentary on Fort William FC, Jon was flown over to Scotland from his home in County Down, Northern Ireland, to visit Claggan Park and meet the board and players. Jon seemed taken aback by the level of interest in his feat which has helped generate huge interest in the Lochaber side.
He said: ‘Thanks to Fort William FC for a fantastic weekend. We had a wonderful time meeting the club, players and fans. It was an honour to meet you all.’
The Fort William FC board was delighted to accept his donation at Claggan Park on Saturday morning with club director Colin Wood saying the money would go towards the club’s community projects.
‘It was great to meet Loki Doki. He is just the same in real life as he is on YouTube. He loves his football and identified very much with what we are trying to do here.
‘It is really humbling to receive support from the wider football community – last weekend a load of Colchester fans came up on the sleeper to watch the game. We are grateful for all the support and are working hard to build a team that is fit for purpose. We are a community club and are keen to modernise Claggan Park and the Nupe. The funds raised will help us to advance these projects.’