Lifelong Leeds United fan celebrates promotion by scubadiving in America

Juliusz Nitecki, 56, is originally from Poland and has lived in USA for last 28 years. He has been a lifelong Whites fan since watching Poland qualify for the 1974 World Cup against England and taking a shine to Leeds player Allan Clarke.

The avid scubadiver celebrated his club being promoted on July 18 by diving at Dutch Springs in Pennsylvania. Juliusz has followed the team’s progress through newspaper articles, brief TV highlights and, as technology progressed, through the internet. During his first trip to the UK in 1986, he hitchhiked from Leicester to see Elland Road. His first match was in 1989 when he watched Leeds beat Portsmouth. In 2009, he even had the chance to shake hands with Norman Hunter before watching his third and currently last match in person.