March-based Fen Tigers Goalball Club to host European tournament
March-based Fen Tigers goalball club is to host the first qualifying round of the 2025 European Club Goalball Champions League.
That is goalball’s equivalent of football’s UEFA Champions League.
From February 21-23, the tournament is coming to the UK and matches will take place at the Oundle School Sports Centre near Peterborough.
It is the first time the Champions League has been held in the UK and the event is being supported by Goalball UK, the sports’ National Governing Body.
Goalball, a game for people with visual impairments, was invented in 1946 by Austrian Hanz Lorenzen and German Sepp Reindle to help with the rehabilitation of blinded war veterans.
Since then, it has evolved and made its men’s Paralympic debut in Toronto in 1976, with the women’s event launching at the games in New York in 1984.
There are now over 30 goalball Clubs in the UK, covering all regions.
March-based Fen Tigers was established in 2016 and became the first British club to participate in the Champions League in the 2022 season. The highly successful and very active club is making history once again by hosting the first-ever EGCA Champions League tournament in the UK.
As part of its quest to be one of the 2025 EGCA Championship hosts, Fen Tigers has enlisted sponsorship support from a diverse range of local organisations including the Neale-Wade Academy in March, whose sports centre provides their usual training venue, Fraser Dawbarns Solicitors, packaging manufacturer Smurfit Westrock and specialist supplier of goalball equipment Goalfix Sports.
Further sponsorship has been obtained from 360 Ability Sport, CSSC, The Province of Cambridgeshire Charity for Care and Relief, and Thomas Pocklington Trust.
Emma Evans MBE, the Fen Tigers Coach who led on the hosting bid, said: “We are thrilled to be hosting not only in the UK but locally in 2025. The generous support of our valued sponsors are transforming our dream into a reality, allowing us to create a lasting legacy from the event that will boost goalball participation among blind and visually impaired individuals nationwide.”.
Mark Winder, CEO at Goalball UK said: “Goalball UK is delighted to be working with Fen Tigers to bring the European Club Goalball Champions League to the UK for the very first time.
“This will showcase our sport, at the very highest club level, and will not only raise awareness of the sport but also the aspirations of people who are blind or partially sighted.
“People who are blind or partially sighted are less likely to participate in sport than any other disability group. Fen Tigers, as one of our affiliated clubs, are helping to address this.”
Iain Grimes, managing partner at Fraser Dawbarns, added: “When Emma approached us for support, we were very keen to help. It is a major feather in the Fen Tigers’ cap to be bringing a European tournament to the East of England and it is lovely to have such exceptional sporting talent embedded in our local community.”
A spokesperson for CSSC said: “CSSC unites, inspires, and supports the mental, emotional, and physical health and wellbeing of the civil service and public sector through sports, fitness, savings, days out, and unique events. We are delighted to be supporting this exciting and inclusive event and are committed to promoting the sport of goalball with our members and networks.”
Fen Tigers will be hoping that their team qualifies for subsequent stages of the EGCA Champions League, with the 2025 final taking place in June 2025 in Portugal.
