IT will be a 72-hour non-stop fitness challenge as a group of Blackburn friends play a marathon football match for charity.

Imran Khan, 21, came up with the innovative idea to raise money for those who have suffered in recent world disasters.

Originally set up in 2010 to raise cash for the victims of the Haiti and Pakistan disasters, Football Relief has now expanded to provide relief to those hit by the New Zealand and Japan earthquakes.

Imran, a computer science student from Woodbine Road, said: “In order to raise a huge amount of money for these very worthy causes, we are going to attempt to get ourselves in the record books by taking part in a football marathon that will smash the current record out of the water."

Endurance levels will be tested to the limit as the eleven-a-side teams battle it out to try and topple the current world record of 60-hours non-stop football held by Loughborough University.

And they will also be aiming high with the fundraising and are hoping to raise £20,000 for the British Red Cross, who will distribute the funds accordingly.

He added: “Haiti and Pakistan were both hit by devastating disasters in 2010 that have affected both countries on an extremely large scale.

"During the planning of Football Relief, New Zealand was hit by an earthquake in 2011 at Christchurch that resulted in almost 200 deaths.

"Japan was hit by an earthquake and a tsunami which has caused 14,000 fatalities, with almost 15,000 people missing and widespread damage.

“We realise that, given the number of widespread disasters that have been unfolding, raising for specific disasters is no longer enough.

"Therefore, Football Relief is determined to do all it can to provide money for aid for the victims of these disasters and any other disaster that may strike.”

“These people have all had their lives taken from them.

"Buildings, livestock, land; all destroyed. It will take them years to rebuild their respective countries back up again.

“Because of the scale of the disasters worldwide, we have decided to pledge all of our funds to the Red Cross Disaster Fund, which provides relief to those who have been hit by any sort of disaster worldwide.” he added.

There will be 18 players in each squad with eleven fielded and seven substitutes.

The match will involve people from across the country and will take place between July 16 and 19 at the Toryglen Regional Football Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.