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Great Britain Men's 50s team entry confirmed for Touch World Cup
The Federation of International Touch (FIT) has confirmed the entry of an 11th category that English players will be eligible for in the 2019 World Cup.
A Great Britain Men’s 50s team has been entered, the deposit paid, and will be heading to Malaysia next April!
Simon Ince, who represented England Men’s 45s at the 2016 European Championships in Jersey, spent the summer gauging interest before being formally invited by FIT to enter a team in September.
There has been enough interest from players across the country who want to represent Great Britain on the highest international stage, and at the end of October the entry into the World Cup was confirmed.
“I’m delighted that the idea of a GB Men’s 50s team has come to fruition and that we’ll be heading to Malaysia,” Ince says. “I really enjoyed playing for England in Jersey and the opportunity to represent Great Britain in the World Cup will be amazing and a real honour.
“We’ve had lots of interest from around the country and the squad will be working really hard over the next few months to make sure that we’re as ready as we can be for the World Cup. We are all tremendously excited about representing Great Britain and really looking forward to the experience. We would like to thank all of the home nation associations and FIT for getting behind the idea.
“We have some promising new (old) talent and some experienced internationals from Wales, Scotland, Jersey and England. Everyone has bought into the concept of a GB team, the training atmosphere is super positive, and we are making great strides forward every time we meet up.”
England Touch Chief Operating Officer Gregg Cropper congratulated Ince on his hard work in putting the squad together.
“Simon’s done a fantastic job and deserves plenty of praise for what he’s done to put this new squad together,” he said. “The Masters age categories are growing all the time and the World Cup gives our older players the chance to compete against their peers from across the world.
“Everyone at England Touch is looking forward to supporting the GB Men’s 50s team in Malaysia in April.”
Great Britain will be competing against Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and Ireland in the 50s category.
To find out more about the team email Simon Ince via gbtouchmens50s@gmail.com or visit the squad’s page on Facebook.
England Touch is taking its largest ever group to a World Cup next April, with teams competing in 10 categories in Malaysia. In all nearly 120 teams from 25 nations will be assembling near Kuala Lumpur for the tournament, which starts on April 28th, 2019.
England Touch has a variety of fundraising initiatives to support #OneEngland.
CLICK HERE to find out more about crowdfunding, including how supporters can have their message sublimated into the England kit.
CLICK HERE to find out more about team sponsorships.
