FC Halifax Town: Golfers set for round-trip to see Shaymen at Wembley

Jeff Callaghan and Adrian Arthur, who are going to Turkey and travelling home for the Wembley final to support FC Halifax Town on 22 May

The Bradley Hall Golf Club trio are travelling to Turkey as part of a special tour which coincides with Town’s historic Wembley appearance against Grimsby on May 22.

So club captain Jeff Callaghan, 59, Adrian Arthur, 61 and Martin Reddy, 53, will fly back half-way through the holiday, leaving Turkey early on Sunday morning.

They depart from Antalya at 3.20am and fly to Heathrow via Istanbul, arriving in London at 11.30am.

After watching the game, they leave Heathrow at 11pm, landing back in Atalya via Istanbul at 6am on Monday morning.

They will then be playing in a Ryder Cup-style tournament on Monday afternoon.

“All three of us are lifelong fans from being children,” said Jeff.

“I first went with my dad when I was six or seven years old.

“I remember watching them in the 70s when they played on Friday nights.

“But I’ve not been as often this season as being the club captain at the golf club has got in the way a bit.

“But we couldn’t miss seeing them at Wembley, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would see them play at Wembley.”

Jeff said the extra expense would be worth it if The Shaymen are victorious.

“The guy who has organised the competition has changed the rest day to the Sunday so we don’t miss any of the golf,” he said.

“It’s cost is £250 each for the extra flights but it’ll be worth every penny if we win.

“It’s got to be done.

“People have either said we’re crazy or been very supportive of us.

“But as soon as we knew they clashed we didn’t hesitate in setting it up.

“With our family members also going there will be 12 of us in total.”

Jeff is cautiously optimistic about Town’s chances in the final.

“It’s a 50-50 chance,” he added. “Obviously we got hammered by them earlier in the season but the 4-2 win at The Shay puts a different complexion on it.

“You never know what might happen with them being in the play-off final - if they win that they could be exhilarated and switch off for the Trophy final.”