Above a Methodist church at the end of a row of terraced housing, north of Rochdale town centre, Craig Kirby’s phone is buzzing as he opens the door to his gym. The 50-year-old’s latest TikTok video has just crept over 85,000 views.
It shows a personal highlights reel from one of his amateur football matches, filmed from the touchline by wife Lindsay, with a caption explaining how Kirby finds space and time on the bobbly park pitch. “Fitness and movement off the ball are 90% of the game,” the text adds.
Kirby smiles at the video going viral. It has racked up more than 340,000 views by the time of writing, but it is nothing new.
The one pinned to the top of his profile has been seen 2.9 million times. It’s a compilation of him playing for Whitworth Valley against Old Rivingtonians on a drizzly January afternoon, a backdrop of rolling Lancashire hills and a kids’ playground, a simple title of: “Well beaten today. Not bad for 50 though.”
That is one of his earliest videos from the beginning of last season – since then he has continued to post regularly across TikTok and Instagram, where the midfielder’s ‘Football at 50’ profile has about 30,000 followers on each.
Kirby, dealing with unimaginable grief following the death of son Sebastian in December 2023, had considered quitting football.
But his wife encouraged him to play on, suggesting she would film his matches. They thought a handful of family and close friends might watch them.
“I put it on and it went to over one million views,” explains Kirby. “We were like: ‘Wow?!’ Lots of things have happened since and it has made me reevaluate.
“I am probably enjoying football right now more than I did in my late 20s or early 30s.”
Kirby is undoubtedly a talented player. He had trials at Blackburn Rovers as a teenager but was already set on following his dad into the army. When he left in his mid 20s, there were opportunities at Cambridge United and Kettering but none that would support his young family.
His hair is whiter now, distinguishing him from younger opponents, but as a personal trainer the physique is still there – Kirby even says he is doing sprint training to work on becoming quicker this season.
Most videos show clips from his games, but Kirby also documents himself training, juggling a ball in his gym or doing keepy-ups against a wall.
He avoids posting any of the aggro that can be found in amateur football to instead focus on neat touches and clever passes, the analysis of an odd error. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
For every ‘Sergio Bus Pass’ comment there are hundreds praising his technique, comparing him to Zinedine Zidane or explaining what an inspiration he is.
“We’re always worried about red flags and being sold this scary world,” says Kirby.
“But most people are just trying to get on and looking for someone to look up to or to inspire them to do something.
“I hope I can do that for some people my age who think ‘I’m too old’.”