Britain's oldest footballer hangs up his boots

Dickie Borthwick from Weymouth has been playing football for 78 years

Author: George SharpePublished 12th Dec 2021
Last updated 13th Dec 2021

Britain's oldest footballer, Dickie Borthwick from Weymouth, has announced he's retiring from the game.

Dickie is celebrating 78 years of footie after two years off the pitch due to coronavirus and ill-health.

He told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset the past two years have made him too comfortable at home on a wet and windy day.

But Dickie says he leaves the sport with some very fond memories. He said:

"Very proud, I've achieved what I've wanted to achieve."

"I scored a hattrick when I was 64 years old.

"I was invited up to Old Trafford, Manchester, where my son and I were treated like royalty. We were shown out to our seats and the announcement came over the PA system 'We are pleased today to welcome the UK's oldest footballer, Dickie Borthwick'. That was heard by 75,000 people.

He told us he'll also miss a lot about the game:

"I'm going to obviously miss al my mates who I play with. Some of them I've played with for 30 or more years.

"I'm going to miss that side of it, and also the involvement in the game itself. I'm going to miss it tremendously."

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