Great Britain has announced the men’s squad which will compete at the IBSA Goalball European B Championships, taking place in Lahti, Finland.
The squad that will compete at the tournament from 3rd to 6th June are Dan Roper, Joe Roper, Matt Loftus, Caleb Nanevie, Josh McEntee and Stuart Hudson, who is making his first appearance at a major senior international tournament.
Great Britain has been drawn in Group B, alongside Italy, Montenegro, Poland and Sweden, and will take on Sweden in their first group match on Thursday 3rd June at 4:50pm (GMT). Great Britain’s first challenge is to finish top four in the group and confirm a quarter final place.
Finishing in the top three places overall will promote Great Britain to the European A Championships. This will give the men’s squad the chance to qualify for the 2022 World Championships in Hangzhou in China and the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Head coach Faye Dale, said: “After returning from Israel we are ready and eager to head to our first major championship since 2018. The pandemic has given us hurdles to overcome and we are proud at the level of commitment our squad has shown to get back onto the goalball court.”
“As we are embarking on this latest cycle, and with a significant period of preparation in Sheffield, it really feels like our time to perform and put all of our hard work to the test. There is a renewed sense of invigoration within the camp and an eagerness to demonstrate just what we can achieve against quality opposition.
“As a team we have ambitions of what we want to accomplish in Finland and over the coming years. But for now, we are taking everything one step at a time and this a key milestone on the journey for this team.”
Mark Winder, CEO of Goalball UK, said: “Despite the pandemic, this is one of the best prepared squads we have prepared under my tenure as CEO, thanks to continued impressive work from the players and staff.
“We are grateful of the support of UK Sport’s continuity funding that has allowed us to maintain our men’s high-performance system in this challenging time.”
