On Sunday 26 February the annual Devas-Univ match will be played at Oxford and the result has been getting much closer in recent years…

Earlier in the week, on 20 February, an alumnus of both Devas and this annual match helped Sutton hold Arsenal to as close a finish as they could hope for.

Craig Eastman was a leading player while a member of Devas. After training at the Arsenal Academy he made ten first team appearances for Arsenal between 2009 and 2013; he also played for Millwall, Wycombe Wanderers and Colchester before Sutton.

On the day of the Devas-Univ match Craig joined the party as a spectator. He was still under contract to Arsenal, which restricted him from running the risk of injury by playing football with any one else. But that did not stop him from deciding to slip in as a reserve, and getting a game. The other spectator who joined in was Fredi Devas, the son of Devas trustee, Johnny Devas, who also came on for part of the match as a reserve. Fredi went on to become a wildlife filmmaker and variously a producer and director. He is probably best known for Wild Arabia, Frozen Planet and the urban episode of Planet Earth II.

It is not yet clear where the careers of this year’s players will lead them.

Find out more about Devas by visiting devasclub.org or on our Univ in the Community page.

Published: 4 February 2017

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