Brighton's Hurzeler, Gross and Dunk Win September Premier League Awards, Vow to Defend Them in a Single File Until May

Brighton & Hove Albion's Fabian Hurzeler, Pascal Gross and Lewis Dunk have won September's Premier League awards and immediately pledged to defend the trophies in a single file formation until the final match of the season, with the club's entire staff now required to walk the seafront in that order.

The three men will live in a single file line, one behind the other, at all times. Hurzeler leads, Gross follows, Dunk brings up the rear. The club has built a permanent single file lane along the promenade, and the local council has painted it in Brighton blue. Every morning at six, the trio walks the length of the pier and back, holding the trophies at chest height, while a steward with a whistle keeps the spacing at exactly one arm's length.

«We have decided that the awards will not be left unattended for a single second until May,» Hurzeler said. «The line is the only safe place for them. If one of us stops, the whole formation stops. We have practiced this for eleven days.»

The club has extended the rule to all employees. Groundskeepers now mow the pitch in single file. The ticket office answers phones in single file. A new department, the Office of Formation Continuity, has been created to ensure that no member of staff ever breaks the line, even during lunch. The seafront lane has become a local attraction, with residents lining up to watch the three men walk past in perfect order.

By next week, the club plans to install a second lane for visiting teams, who must also walk in single file from the station to the stadium. Brighton's next home match will begin only after the referee has confirmed that all players are standing in the correct order.

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