SINGAPORE — The Republic’s men’s floorball team will have to fork out money from their own pockets to co-pay for their trip to the world championships in Switzerland after they were unable to raise S$20,000 to fund it.

TODAY had reported on Monday that the Singapore Floorball Association (SFA) aimed to raise S$20,000 from sponsorships, donations and the sale of limited edition T-shirts to pay for the World Floorball Championships from Dec 2-6.

But, some five months after embarking on their fund-raising campaign, they have only managed to raise S$14,000.

This means the players will have to fork out S$1,000 each — about 50 per cent of the total amount.

As four members from the 20-man squad are unable to pay their own way, team manager Kevin Tan has decided to contribute S$5,000 from his own pocket to fund their air travel, accommodation and travel expenses.

“We will still go ahead with the trip with the amount that we have and the players will have to co-share the expenses,” said Tan, who will depart for Switzerland with the team tonight.

“If, along the way, a company decides to come and help, we will be more than happy with that.

“I decided to subsidise the four players because I don’t think we should exclude talented floorballers because of their financial background. If it is within my means, I don’t see why I shouldn’t help them as it’s for a good cause.”

The national team had qualified for the world tourney after winning the Asia-Pacific Floorball Championships in Japan in February. They needed a total of S$40,000 for the trip to Switzerland.

With the SFA receiving less than S$100,000 from the Singapore Sports Council’s annual grant exercise for FY2012/13, the association were unable to pay for the stint.

They tried to raise S$20,000, as this amount would then be matched by the SSC’s matching grant for new commercial cash sponsorships secured by a national sports association.

Centre Mohamad Rashid Jalaluddin is one of the four whom Tan is paying for. The 21-year-old is from a single-parent family — his mother works as a cashier — and had missed out on the 2006 edition due to financial constraints.

Said the Republic Polytechnic student, who is pursuing a diploma in sports and leisure management: “I am just relieved that someone is sponsoring me. I couldn’t go to the 2008 world champs in the Czech Republic because of money issues and only managed to go in 2010 because the ITE (Institute of Technical Education) sponsored me.

“I was very disappointed after what happened in 2006 and did think about giving up floorball at the time. I’m very thankful to my team manager and I’m really looking forward to the match against the hosts Switzerland as they are the highest-ranked team in our group, and it will be a great playing experience.”

Competing in their eighth world championships since 1996, Singapore will take on Estonia on Monday before battling Group A opponents Switzerland and Slovakia later in the week.

Individuals and companies who are keen on making a donation or sponsoring the national floorball team can contact their team manager at kevinice88 [at] gmail.com.