Rivals Surbiton have stepped up to donate to Buckingham’s Euro Indoor Club Cup fundraiser, telling them: “Go fly the flag for English clubs!”
Buckingham have been forced to set up a crowdfunder after being asked to take England’s place at the European Indoor Club Cup in Turkey in February after Repton pulled out.
The Bucks outfit, champions in 2020, were invited in mid October which lett the club little alternative but to ask for donations in a bid to fundraise £10,000 towards their trip.
The club said: “They will be competing with fully professional European squads – and each of the Buckingham players, all of whom have full time jobs, will be paying for that privilege.
“Unlike the big clubs it competes with, Buckingham can’t afford to pay players. This season, it doesn’t have a club sponsor – so its success is down to excellent coaching and a talented and committed squad, who play for the love of sport, and each other. The nearest they get to financial rewards is a home-made pie at training every time they win.”
Lottie Porter, whose two goals helped Buckingham to their brilliant title win in 2020, said: “We’re a very small club with no sponsors at the moment, and many of the team just won’t be able to afford to pay for themselves to go.”
To help inspire people to donate, the squad have set themselves the challenge of travelling the 4936 miles to Antalya in the month of December.
The squad will be walking, running or rowing the distance to their European Cup destination in 31 days. Google predicts 34 days; the squad’s challenge is to try and beat this.
To sponsor Buckingham, head to their GoFundMe page.
