A TWO-TEAM LEAGUE? NOW THAT'S JUST SCILLY!

Located 45 kilometres off the coast of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly boast one of the world's strangest football leagues and face a unique set of challenges

- Chris Evans

Playing against the same team week in, week out across a 20-game league campaign might sound monotonous but, like all aspects of life on the Isles of Scilly, football is never boring.

The Isles of Scilly Football League, the world's smallest division, is made up of only two teams: Garrison Gunners and Woolpack Wanderers. The two familiar rivals lock horns on the same pitch on the tiny archipelago off the coast of Cornwall most Sunday mornings.

Despite that, this unique contest still attracts more wild stories than many bigger competitions. From welcoming World Cup winners, trips to FIFA HQ in Switzerland and herds of escaped cows, life is seldom dull. Case in point: one player was even drafted in to be David Beckham's body double.

"That's my claim to fame," laughs the league's former chairman Anthony Gibbons, who filled in for Golden Balls after a secret video shoot on the islands was interrupted. "A guy from St Martin's phoned the press to say that Beckham was here, so a load of helicopters came over and he had to go," recalls Gibbons. "But they still needed one last shot over the bay, so I filled in for him."

Becks had made the trip to film his segment of a 2007 advert for Adidas, after creatives at the sportswear giant were enticed by the idea of the islands' two-team league. A host of international stars including Steven Gerrard, Michael Ballack and Patrick Vieira made trips to shoot their parts of the ad, which saw them all take training sessions with the area's youngsters and sample island life.

"What a star-studded cast it was," recalls the league's current chairman Will Lethbridge, who also works on the islands' tourist board. "A friend of mine has got a replica World Cup signed by Daniele De Rossi and Vieira, which must be unique - a replica trophy signed by two World Cup winners!