Bellway Wales has supported the Wales senior men’s hockey team as it prepares for the 2026 World Cup which takes place this month in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The company, which has its headquarters in St Mellons, near Cardiff, was approached by goalkeeper Rhys Payne who was asking for support as the team prepare for the competition.
All funds raised will go directly to supporting the squad throughout its World Cup campaign, including travel and transport, accommodation, training and preparation, nutrition and recovery, and equipment and operational support. Bellway has donated £250 towards this.
Rhys said: “The kind donation will be going towards the Wales men’s hockey team taking on the best hockey teams in the world and on the greatest stage at the World Cup in Amsterdam this summer.
“I’m really proud to have a great business and well-respected organisation support me and I am so grateful for the opportunity Bellway are giving me as a young Welsh athlete.
“Hopefully we can do Bellway proud and I’d like to thank them so much for the generosity they have shown.”
Rhys, who grew up in Cardiff, currently plays for Cardiff & Met Hockey Club and has represented Wales since making his debut against Malaysia in 2021.
This is only the second time in Welsh men’s hockey history that the team has qualified for the FIH World Cup, after qualifying for the first time ever in India in 2023.
The team hopes its campaign will help inspire the next generation of hockey players across Wales, show what Welsh teams are capable of achieving on the international stage, and create a future where representing Wales at World Cups becomes an expectation.
The team is competing in the opening men’s fixture of the tournament, against India on Saturday 15 August at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Amsterdam. This will be followed by matches against the two other teams in Pool D: Pakistan on Monday 17 August and England on Wednesday 19 August.
Daniel Shone, Head of Sales for Bellway Wales, said: “We are proud to be supporting the Welsh team as it competes at the very highest level of the game.
“This is such an exciting moment for Welsh hockey and I’m sure this campaign will inspire a surge of interest in the sport here in Wales. We’d like to give Rhys and all the team our very best wishes for a successful tournament – we’ll be cheering them on all the way.”
