FORMER England footballer, Stuart Pearce, will make his return to competitive football on Saturday in Longford AFC’s home game against Smiths Athletic on Saturday, February 6.

Longford AFC had been dubbed ‘the worst in the country, with Peace drafted in by Direct Line to help fix the confidence and fortunes of the side as part of their #directfix campaign.

“I am pleased to confirm that Stuart Pearce will make his debut this Saturday in home game against Smiths Athletic”, said manager Nick Dawe. “We gave Stuart’s a week off to work on his fitness and so, we are ready to throw him into the squad for Saturday’s game.

“Thanks to Direct Line for making this possible, the whole club has seen an uplift in confidence following the news of Stuart’s arrival last week.

“We have fielded calls from all over the world; players want to turn out for us and fans want to come along to watch us play.

“It has been a tremendous whirlwind for this small grassroots club.”

Longford AFC play in Division Two of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League are bottom of the league having secured no points all season, and conceding on average of just fewer than ten goals per game.

Their record currently stands at play 20, lost 20, goals for: four, goal difference: minus 187.

53-year-old Pearce won 78 caps for England in a career spanning more than 20 years and is just one goal away from a milestone 100th career goal and will make his comeback after Direct Line arranged for the left-back to play for Longford AFC for one game.

Wendy Pearson, Head of Marketing at Direct Line, added: “It has been heart-warming to see the public’s outpouring of support for Longford AFC since we helped Stuart Pearce to join the club as part of our #directfix campaign.

“We are looking forward to seeing how Stuart will help to transform both the dressing room atmosphere and confidence on Saturday.”