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Middlesbrough superfan hasn't missed a competitive game since 1996
Jan 16 2026 10:17 · By Jeremy Armstrong/News Reporter · 7 Reads
One of the most loyal football fans in Britain has not missed a competitive game in almost 30 years.
Nick Waites, 64, has just marked his 1,400th consecutive match watching Middlesbrough FC. His extraordinary run started in Sept., 1996 and includes all league, FA Cup , league cup and European matches.
His all-time favourite match was the 2-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the Carling Cup final in Cardiff in 2004, ending the club's 128-year wait for silverware.
His love of the club started thanks to his late father Stuart, a devoted Boro fan, and his late mum Rita also loved going to the games. He has seen big names including Bryan Robson and Gazza .
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But his favourite player was the Brazilian star Juninho, who played in three separate spells between 1995 and 2004.
Dad-of-two Nick, 64, a chartered accountant, joked how his friends had threatened to "kidnap" him so he missed a game.
He has worked on the personal tax returns of top footballers for his job, and enjoyed hospitality at some of the games.
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He told the Mirror : "The six million dollar question is how long I can go on for. It is crazy that nothing has happened over 30 years to stop me going. But there have been some near misses."
He recalled having a hernia operation around 12 years ago when he changed the date of the op to a Wednesday and still managed to make the away game in Leicester on the following Saturday.
He was also involved in an accident on the way back from a game in Derby where the car was written off after skidding on water.
Nick, dad of Chris, 36, and Jennifer, 31, added: "I am sure that there will be fans who have been to more games. But I am not sure many Middlesbrough fans will have been to more consecutive games.
"Given the way the modern game is now, with so many games, that record may not be beaten. I would love to get to 1500 consecutive games, but we shall see."
The last league game Nick missed was in 1992 when Boro beat Wolves to win promotion into the very first Premier League , which happened to be the day of his brother's wedding.
He was also not allowed to attend games during the pandemic. Middlesbrough's 3-1 away defeat to Fulham in the FA Cup on Jan 10 saw Nick reach his latest milestone.
Down the years, he has booked his holidays around the summer and international breaks; he does not attend pre-season friendlies.