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lough neagh is the largest lake in the united kingdom and is located in central northern ireland.

in county armagh, just south of lake neagh, there is a small town called loughgall, which is obviously named after the lake. the horticulture and plant breeding stations of the northern ireland department of agriculture are all in loughgall, because in addition to woodland, it is almost completely surrounded by orchards - loughgall is famous for its apple planting industry, and the history of local apple cultivation can be traced back more than 1,000 years.

the long and narrow town of loughgall is built on the north and south sides of the b77 road, with an area of ​​only 0.5 square kilometers. at the westernmost end of the town, there is a football club called loughgall fc.since the 23-24 season, the lovgar team has enjoyed a european record:

of all the clubs in europe's top leagues, lovgar is home to the smallest population.

how few? the record was previously held by eb/streymur, a faroe islands premier league team located in a small fishing village with a population of only 320. now, lovgar has broken the record.there are only 282 residents in their town, belonging to 116 households.

the british media commented on this small town that is competing in the top league: "these 282 people alone can form about 20 teams."

founded in 1967, lovegar spent most of its history playing in the second division. they first reached the top division in 2004, but were unfortunately relegated three years later. in the 2009-10 season, lovegar had already won the second division championship, but they failed to get the chance to be promoted because the club's stadium facilities were not fully ready.

lovegar's home stadium has a name that sounds refreshing - lakeview park. in recent years, one of the most important tasks of the club is to upgrade the home facilities, and the progress of the project has been accelerating, which is consistent with their performance in the league.

lovegar, which had previously been at the upper-middle level, won the league runner-up in the 21-22 season and was only one step away from promotion. they immediately submitted an application to armagh county and the council: lovegar needed to build a new stand.

in the past, lovegar has always used two stands: the oldest stand is named after the club's former chairman raymond nesbitt, while the second covered stand was built a year ago with funds raised by the club's legendary old man hilbert willis.

willis, then 97, accomplished an impressive feat: he walked 100 laps of lakeview park stadium in one year.on july 24, 2021, wesley's son accompanied his father to complete the penultimate lap in lake view park, and wesley's last lap was completed surrounded by everyone, including his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

the event ultimately raised £27,000.at the fireworks display after the event, the pastor of the local church told people about willis' life: willis, who originally lived outside the village, worked for the club for more than half a century, including 30 years as a stadium manager, and later he also served as the club's chairman.

current club chairman john nicholson said: "people sometimes use the word 'legend' loosely, but for us, hilbert willis was a legend. his love for football was unparalleled. we would sometimes take the minibus to away games and he would sit next to me and guide me. he never missed a game."

lovegar did a series of work during the epidemic, and the money raised by willis was also used to renovate the player's lounge and add seats for the disabled. of course, in order to avoid the embarrassing situation of "winning the championship but not being able to upgrade" from happening again, lakeview park needs to hurry up and expand its capacity.

so lovegar's proposal includes a new stand with 300 seats, and a new stand for away fans at the other end of the field. the away stand also needs to accommodate about 200 spectators, and there is also a need for a toilet next to the away stand.

lovegar's precautions proved to be a wise decision:in the 22-23 season, they secured the league title two rounds in advance and were successfully promoted. this small town of 282 people suddenly became lively.

club chairman nicholson said: "the media in brazil, italy and germany are very interested in us (note: the team's main goalkeeper is german, and there is also a brazilian midfielder). of course, we also invited the bbc to film. we want to make full use of this opportunity to do some publicity for this town."

"we are a small club, but we have a long history. i am proud to be an important part of this community. we are not just about football, we also hold quiz nights and many other activities every week. we have been working hard to get a place in the top league, and we just missed it last season. this season our atmosphere is better and the audience has increased."

"i don't know if we are an inspiration to other clubs, but everyone here has made a huge effort. i don't want others to think that this club has any bureaucracy, but i must say that many unsung club staff should be praised."

although the sparrow is small, it has all the organs.today, lovegar not only has its own gym, cryogenic spa, and 3g pitch, but also has a youth training camp covering the age range of 5-17 years old, with about 200 boys and girls training here.

standing on the upper floor of the only primary school in lovegar, the cope primary school, you can overlook the entire lakeview park stadium. during the days when lovegar was successfully promoted, almost all the students in the school talked about this team.

ellen archer, principal of cope primary school, said: "i found out not long after i came to this school that the children here love football. so when the players came to visit the children one day, the scene fell into craziness because the players of this team are the heroes of all the children."

the children sang songs such as "lovegar promotes" and "football goes home" on the spot. the son of club director neil anderson attends this primary school. anderson "used his position" to let his son hold the championship trophy.

in between signing autographs for the kids, midfielder robbie norton looked ahead to the top flight: “as a player, everyone wants more people to come to watch their games, so i’m looking forward to linfield, glendurran and larne coming to lakeview park and giving us some special nights.”

norton mentioned larne, which was the top league champion for two consecutive years and the team that represented northern ireland in the champions league qualifiers. as a result, in the 23-24 season, larne lost only one game in 33 games throughout the season, and the only loss was due to lovegar. the residents of the town generally believe that this is the best game in the club's history.

in the end, lovegar finished 7th in their first season back in the top flight after 16 years, 20 points above the relegation zone.in the view of club chairman nicholson, the team's long-term goal is to participate in the champions league qualifiers.

"we have to stay in the top league first and then start to develop. everyone here enjoys football and everyone in the town wants to see the team compete with the best in the country. it's not easy and we want to keep it that way. i'm glad the club is getting some attention now. our financial situation is not comparable to other teams and most of our staff are volunteers."

lovegar's working atmosphere of "being a club and also a home" has been passed down from hilbert willis' generation:in 2024, willis will be 100 years old.lovegar hosted several grand birthday parties for the old man in february this year, so much so that the centenarian "couldn't count how many cakes he had."

willis can no longer remember who interviewed him, but as soon as he stepped onto the grass of lakeview park, his thoughts became clear instantly: "i know there are 4-5 professional teams in the top league in northern ireland (and our players still need to work), but i believe we are no worse than them. we can definitely beat those opponents."

willis has long been an honorary member of the club, and he can attend all the team's home games for free, but over the years, he has always insisted on buying tickets:

"if there's no one at the ticket gate at the time, i'll just stand there and wait for people to come back."

therefore, a centenarian's love for the club is a meticulous care.