Iceland's Cricket Team to use crowdfunding to grow sport in the country

The small island nation of Iceland is looking for help to raise funds to promote cricket. An appeal was posted on social media as part of a crowdfunding campaign. The Krikketsamband Íslands (Iceland Cricket Board) is looking to grow the game on the island and has a tour of England later this year. As part of the tour, Iceland are due to play their first international match. Their opponents will be Switzerland where the recent Cricket On Ice tournament was held.

The island has just two cricket teams at present: Reykjavík Vikings and Kópavogur Puffins. It is hardly surprising with a total population of just over 347,000 people to choose from. In 2017, Iceland played a total of 18 games with several teams travelling to the island as well.

2018 is no exception and a tour of England is planned for July. There they will play four matches which include two international games against Switzerland. There is also the possibility of an invitation to the Pepsi Cup in September, played in the Czech Republic, which the team has attended for the last two years.

We are going to be the only international cricket team to be fully crowdfunded. Join us! Become a supporter. Sponsor a player. Sponsor a match. Sponsor a tournament. Sponsor the national team. We will pay you back in fish and medieval poetry. https://t.co/XCHGjf1Or5

— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) April 10, 2018

By offering several sponsorship options, Iceland's Cricket Board are looking for funds to grow cricket. This can only be achieved by playing regular matches. With such a small sample space to select players from, the task is difficult enough. Competing against football, with Iceland's football team off to the football World Cup in June, the task becomes even more difficult.

Interestingly, the website for Iceland's Cricket Board claims that cricket was invented by the Vikings inhabiting Iceland in 911 AD. Cricket was rekindled in Iceland in 1999 but the last few years have seen a growth of the sport and the current board are looking to move the game forward.

The first goal would be to achieve membership of the European Cricket Council and ICC Affiliate status. In order to get there, the Iceland Cricket Board need funds. They are targeting £3,000 from this campaign and, at the time of writing, well on the way to achieving their funding target.