Football is called the Beautiful Game for a reason; it can be played anywhere. Military man Luke East, who squeezes the game into his weekly schedule no matter what, proves exactly that.
When you think of the army, soldiers in particular, I can almost guarantee that them playing football doesn’t spring to mind.
I mean, it makes sense. They famously don’t have a lot of free time. According to the most recent data available from the UK Ministry of Defence, the average trained person in the military spends 59.5 hours per week on duty.
However, according to Gloucestershire-born and bred Luke East, currently a trainee in the army, football is still very much a big part of his life and routine.
Speaking about said routine, East said, “Schedule is: wake up 5:45 every single morning; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Breakfast at 6:30, day-to-day regular army work, and then on Wednesday and Friday afternoons is your sport, and I chose football.”
On how he balances the two, he added, “I finish at 5:00 every day, and then I’ll have half an hour rest, chill out, have a shower, go back, and I’ll probably do about an hour and a half, two hours of PT and a bit of football on the astros.”
“I also play Sunday League on the weekends. The lads’ team on the Saturday, that’s five-a-side.”
A lot of soldiers would say that their favourite part of what they do is the travelling. Last year’s Reserves Survey (ReCAS 2024) even includes ‘to travel and experience new places’ as a tick-box reason for joining/staying in the army.
Despite his love for football, East is no different. “The travelling, and you get paid while doing that! It’s always a good laugh”.
He didn’t stop there, however. “It’s also being able to play football with the lads that you work with, because you get to know them and have a stronger bond. Also, always looking forward to the big matches against the Navy or Air Force.”
Conversation then turned to what can only be described as the Champions League of military football. The Regimental Cup is no doubt the biggest date in the sporting calendar of those who chose football as their sport, and East was happy to tell us all about it.
“The Regimental Cup is where you play against the other regiments”, he started. “They’re always fiery ones, especially if they’re in the same cap badge as you.”
“The Royal Armoured Corps, of course, they’re always a good laugh. When we play against The King’s Royal Hussars, or the Royal Tank Regiment, it gets all the other lads pumped up for a big match and it usually has a bit of violence, which is also quite a good laugh”.
Locally, East won Man of the Match for Cheltenham-based five-a-side team Boozo’s Blokes in a game against UDA Scholars last season, and he’ll be hoping to carry this form into his military life.
