Men’s hockey World Cup: Wales launches crowdfunding campaign to take team to India
CHENNAI: Wales, one of the three countries slated to face India in the group phase at the men’s hockey World Cup next year, have launched a gofundme campaign to take the team to India. The fundraiser, organised by Ria Burrage-Male, aims to raise £25,000 towards flight costs (they have so far raised £1,610).
The campaign page, whose link was shared on the official Twitter handle (@HockeyWales) on Thursday, said: “For the first time in history, Hockey Wales Men have qualified for the FIH World Cup, after an exciting qualifier held in Cardiff (the European leg of the World Cup qualifier was held from October 21-24.”
“The Men head to India in January 2023 to take on the BEST in the WORLD in front of a global audience of 2 billion followers. Both our men and women contribute financially to play for Wales, your help will ensure they do not pay to play on one of the biggest sporting stages. Thank you for your interest, contribution and for becoming part of our journey.”
It’s not unheard of for national teams in the sport to crowdfund their way to a major event. The South African team did something similar to play at the Olympics last year while the Canada programme depended for a long time on students contributing a sum of money towards expenses.
For Wales, though, the interesting thing is they are part of Great Britain at the Olympics but play separately during the World Cup, continental championships and so on. Curiously enough, Wales will face one of the other countries that comprise Great Britain, England, at the World Cup. In fact, that match on January 13 in Rourkela will be their first-ever at a World Cup before they face Spain two days later. They complete their group-stage obligations against India in Bhubaneswar on January 19.