Double header for England at UCLan’s Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and Table Tennis England (TTE) will again bring international table tennis to Preston as England face a double-header on home soil for the first time in almost three years.
The England Leopards men and women will play the home legs of their European Championships qualifying play-offs on the same day, Tuesday 11 April, at UCLan’s Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre (STFSC). The men will take on Slovakia and the women face Spain with the winners qualifying for the top division at this year’s Euros.
It will be the first time both the senior England teams, which boast no fewer than four Olympians, have competed on the same day in this country since 2014. Last time they faced Australia in a pre-Commonwealth Games warm-up that also took place at UCLan’s STFSC.
Tickets for the international event are £6 for adults and £4 for juniors. Doors open at 6.00pm with the games beginning at 7.00pm. Tickets are available on the Table Tennis England website.
UCLan is fast becoming a North West hub for international table tennis. Last December England women faced Germany in a European Championship qualifying game at the Sports Centre, which has also hosted two junior national competitions in recent years. This followed success as a pre-Olympic training facility for the Australian and American teams prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games.