As many fans prepare for the action packed summer of football ahead, one film-maker has taken a rather different approach by embracing the term 'Road to the World Cup' with a more literal meaning.
Andrew Grady - A.K.A Magic Thumb - has begun a mammoth 37,000km hitch hike which will take him from his hometown of South Shields, Tyne & Wear through 18 different countries and four continents in just 100 days, before arriving in Brazil in time for the beginning of 2014 World Cup.
The preliminary route set out for the quest will take Andrew from the UK, through mainland Europe and into Russia. He will then travel across Russia and cross over into Alaska via the Bering Strait. Once in Alaska the journey will continue through Canada, USA and South America before finally reaching the destination of Manaus, Brazil for England's opening game of the competition.
The highs and lows of this epic journey will all be caught on camera thanks to a handful of volunteer cameramen from around the world, and there is hope that the footage - along with footage of Grady's other two hitch hiking adventures - will be edited together to create a feature length Magic Thumb film.
Prior to his latest hitch hiking expedition Andrew has also thumbed his way from London to South Africa in time for the 2010 World Cup, and from Australia to London in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Andrew's reasons behind this hugely difficult expedition are simple, yet touching: 'To Hitch Hike around the world. To explore the soundness of Humanity along the way. To love. To learn. To forge on. And tell a cracking story.'
You can follow the progress of Magic Thumb on his Facebook page and also his website - TheMagicThumb.com - where you can also watch amazing preview videos from his previous two hitch hiking expeditions.
(Written by Jake Gauntley)
