Wales Korfball’s Head Coach, Tom Brady, has selected a squad of 14 players that will represent Wales at the upcoming European Korfball Qualifying Championships in France in June.
The European Qualifying Tournament takes place in Saint Etienne from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th June, with the top two countries earning the right to take part in the European Korfball Championships in the Netherlands later this year.
The squad has some noticeable omissions with Wales Korfball stalwarts Ramzi Barbir and John Williams (current assistant coach) both currently recovering from ACL injuries. However, this has given opportunities for young talent to shine through with new faces being added to the Welsh setup. One of these rookie players, Chris Hughes, commented on his selection
“I’m over the moon to get the chance to wear the hallowed red shirt in France – it’s such an honour.”
Niamh Sully, another debutante commented
“(I’m) thrilled to be selected as a part of the squad for qualifiers. I’m so excited to be representing Wales and going away with the squad! It’s going to be awesome”
On the selected squad, Coach Brady said,
“Myself and the rest of the coaching staff [Jess Beale and John Williams] have been very impressed with the commitment and talent shown by the squad. We have a big challenge ahead of us but we feel that we have been able to select a squad with an excellent balance of experience and potential.”
The squad will be captained by Wales’s top goal scorer, Nick Wilkins, who is on course to overtake John Williams as the most capped Welsh international during this tournament. On his captaincy Wilkins said,
“We’ve got a great atmosphere and training ethic in the build up to these qualifiers; the team are working hard and we’re really excited about the upcoming tournament.”
The squad will continue their preparations for this tournament over the coming months with regular training sessions and warm up matches, before travelling over to France on the 2nd June. On the build up, Brady went on to say
“We will be working very hard up to the tournament and will be striving to make the whole of Welsh Korfball proud of our performance in France.”
Wales Korfball Squad
Females: Carla Bennett (Cambridge City), Ruth Campbell (Bristol Thunder), Jo Nash (Cardiff Raptors), Zoe Rose (Cardiff City), Niamh Sully (Cardiff University), Bethan Tabiner Phillips (Birmingham City), Cheya Tyson (Cardiff Raptors)
Males: Gareth Clarke (Oxford City), Leo Comerford (Cardiff University), Chris Hughes (Leeds City), Rick Scowcroft (Birmingham City), Adam Waide (Birmingham City), James Wilcox (Cardiff City), Nick Wilkins (c) (Oxford City)
Head Coach: Tom Brady
Assistant Coaches: Jess Beale, John Williams
Physiotherapist: Lenneke van der Linden
The WKA are currently seeking new sponsors for the international team. If you are interested please get in touch with Nick Wilkins (international officer) at internationals@welshkorfball.org.