Footie-mad businessman bids for Brighton squad place

NEWS English division one football team Brighton and Hove Albion has acquired a new squad member after selling a place on the team over the internet. Life-long Brighton fan Adrian Heft secured the place in the squad as top bidder for the lot on auction site QXL. Heft paid a hefty £4,000 for the honour of getting his picture on the official team website, being registered with the Football League as player number 99 and travelling to an away match with the team. It is unlikely that Heft will ever get to play a game. Major illness and an unprecedented bout of injuries would have to strike the Brighton bench before the 43-year-old amateur long distance runner ever gets the call. Two weeks ago, Cambridge United also put a squad place up for auction on the net. The top bid is currently sitting at £5,651 with another 17 days to go.