“A lot of people I’ve worked with say, ‘Adrian, if there’s one crazy enough guy in this world to do a trip like this, it’s you.’
Adrian Stefanescu has a good laugh in his beard at Nordmøre Stadium. The man in the cycling suit in front of us has self-irony that he has an incipient “car ring” around his waist, but is determined to cycle 35,000 km to visit 200-250 of the world’s football clubs – to raise money for children with cancer in Romania.
Hammerfest to New Zealand
The trip starts at the world’s northernmost football club Hammerfest in the spring of 2025 and ends at the southernmost: Southern United in New Zealand.
“This will be a trip with meaning. From each club, I will collect used and signed shirts that we sell at auction to raise money for Little People, an organization that helps Romanian children who are fighting cancer,” explains the former professional footballer, agent and scout.
Adrian says that he has previously worked with several of the clubs in the Premier League and Championship. Now the food and wine lover own the company that operate and run Philipshaugen Lodge in Øksendal. His adventure at the lodge will end in January, as he has sold the shares.
“A friend of mine, Stuart Webber, former sporting director at Norwich City, has encouraged me on this project. We worked together at Wolves when he was there. He turned down an offer as sporting director at Chelsea because he had promised that he would climb Mount Everest for a foundation, which he did. So I said to myself that if Stuart can say no to Chelsea, then I can quit my business at the lodge, Adrian explains.
On a training trip
Now he uses the venerable lodge in Øksendal as a starting point for longer training trips. That is how he has ended up at Nordmøre Stadium, where he after a training trip got to watch KBK’s match against Odd together with Uglan.
“This year it’s just preparations. I have to train my body, I have to see how the camera and digital equipment works and I have to see how the tricycle works,” he explains.
The bike can also run on batteries and weighs 55 kilos. He noticed this when the battery died in cold weather on the way over Dovrefjell.
“The last 16 kiloemters i had to use my legs only and to pedal uphill my bike, myself and another 30 kilos cargo an equipament. I have been an athlete myself in my youth so the legs worked just fine, that training helped me to make room in my belly for some fishhan (the local fish & chips) and beers while I am here in Kristiansund”, says Adrian smiling.
– How did you got the idea of cycling all the way south?
“Since I was little, my dream has been to see the world. I actually slept with a map under my pillow. As a football player, scout and agent, I travelled a lot by car, plane, bus, boat, taxi and so on. Now it’s time to do it by bike. I lack a bit of courage, but the feedback I’ve received from the clubs I’ve visited has been incredibly good and inspirational. Mant clubs and some players I know, like Magnus Wolff Eikrem in Molde, Dennis Man in Parma or Sivert Mannsver in Ajax, have already sent me shirts – before the project has really started, so I cannot let them down.”
Underwater
Stefanescu believes it is possible to do the trip in just over a year, but expects to use around three.
“It’s not just about traveling. I want to present a little bit of history about each club to my followers on social media, so there’s a lot of video editing, filming and stuff.“
– Will there be a book as well?
“Yes, I’ve written two books, but I didn’t have the courage to publish the second one. The third is already in my head. It will probably be a pretty heavy and thick one, after 3 long years on a bike.“
Adrian also points out the obvious that he has to use other means of transport to countries like New Zealand, as he cannot cycle underwater.
“But I’ve actually tried it too. I didn’t pay attention to the signs and cycled down into the Fannefjord tunnel under the fjord and the airport in Molde. It was tough and stupid, because I got into a lot of trouble. But I survived and here I am today in Kristiansund” says the adventurer.
