Jay Lovell will captain Cockfosters in the FA Vase final at Wembley on Sunday – a remarkable achievement for a 33-year-old defender who usually works at the stadium as an escalator engineer. The father-of-two was originally scheduled to be on-site as part of his job maintaining the venue's escalators, but his colleagues have covered his shift so he can play.

Lovell works for a company responsible for installing and upgrading escalators at the national stadium. His team reached the final by beating Kent-based Punjab United 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. "All of the lads are coming to watch me," Lovell told BBC Sport. "We've passed the job on to someone else."

Cockfosters, from Enfield in north London, will face AFC Stoneham (from Eastleigh, Hampshire) in what would be the first FA Vase in the club's history. The Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division side have played more than 60 games this season, including 11 matches between 4 April and 4 May. "When you're getting up, going to work, coming home and then going out again to play football, it is a lot to juggle," Lovell explained.

The defender dismissed comparisons to football legends, saying: "Don't put me in the same category as those two!" Regardless of the result, Sunday marks an extraordinary chapter for a part-time player who will now lead his team out at football's greatest stadium.