Ipswich Town fans experienced a football first onTuesday 28th August, with sleepy supporters to benefit from a novel new sleeping aid on the long journey home from Cumbria.
To celebrate its new football sponsorship, Capital One teamed up with Ipswich club legend John Wark to record the first ever football sleep therapy audio tape, helping a hardy set of supporters recover during a mammoth 620-mile round trip to Carlisle United in Round 2 of the Capital One Cup.
Featuring relaxation techniques from sleep expert Nick Littlehales, who regularly works with top level professional clubs and individual athletes, John Wark’s soothing voice will ensure that the fans were fit and refreshed for work the following morning, despite the official supporter coaches arriving home at the early hour of 5am. Techniques include guided imagery, progressive relaxation and deep breathing.
Michael Woodburn, Chief Marketing Officer for credit card company Capital One, said: “A trip of that magnitude is not one for the faint hearted and fans are bound to have made many sacrifices to attend the game. The fans will be arriving back in Ipswich in the early hours of the morning of Wednesday 29th August, with many of them having to travel straight to work. We wanted to make their journey home as restful as possible. ”
Nick Littlehales, a Professional Sports Sleeping Consultant, who assisted with the making of the tape, said: “A good night’s sleep has not only become important for professional footballers, the exertions, emotions and travelling fans put themselves through during 90 minutes on a match day means that they need to get the necessary rest in order to recover fully. I am delighted to be involved in this project and hope all the Ipswich fans see a great game, enjoy a safe trip and sleep well.”
Steve Pearce, Ipswich Town Football Club Press Officer, said: “We’re really grateful to Capital One for acknowledging our dedicated supporters making the long trip to Carlisle. Hopefully the tape will get some further use – all the way to Wembley!”
Football fans who are having trouble sleeping can download John Wark’s dulcet tones as a podcast by visiting http://soundcloud.com/capital-one-uk.