Thanks football team for run along the ground (4)
I believe the answer is:
taxi
'run along the ground' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'thanks football team' is the wordplay.
'thanks' becomes 'ta' (UK informal version of 'thank you').
'football team' becomes 'XI' (a football team, from Roman numerals for 11).
'ta'+'xi'='TAXI'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for taxi that I've seen before include "people carrier?" , "type of vehicle" , "Motor vehicle for hire with driver" , "Vehicle that plies for hire" , "run along the ground" .)