A village club in the eighth tier of English football have had this weekend’s match postponed because of international call-ups.
West Sussex-based Lancing were due to travel to Crawley to face Three Bridges in the Isthmian League South East Division on Saturday.
But two of their players will instead be 3,500 miles away representing Bermuda against Dominica in the Concacaf Nations League.
The Isthmian League agreed to postpone the match with Bermuda midfielder Knory Scott and forward Luke Robinson, both 25, missing out, while Charlie Gibson and Sam Bull will be playing six-a-side for England at the World Minifootball Federation (WMF) U23 World Cup in Croatia.
“It’s ridiculous for a club at this level,” Lancing chairman Barry Sutton told BBC Sport.
“To have one person called up [Scott, last year] was something we celebrated, but to have four off in the same week is unheard of.”
‘We hang a Bermuda flag behind the goal’
Founded in 1941, Lancing are playing at the highest level in their history at non-league step four.
They have four points from their first eight games and sit 20th in the league in the relegation zone.
Former Brighton youth player Robinson, who has 13 Bermuda caps, joined Lancing from Whitehawk in the summer.
Winger Scott is playing in his second season for the club, having moved from Hastings in 2023.
“Knory is a lovely lad – quiet. You couldn’t hope to meet a nicer guy,” Sutton said.
“Luke has been around a lot of clubs at a higher level.
“To have international players is something we’re enormously proud of.
“We’ve got a Bermuda flag which we hang up behind one of the goals each home game.”
‘A lot of our website hits come from Bermuda’
Bermuda is a British territory in the North Atlantic Ocean with a population of 63,500.
While Lancing have not formed a direct relationship with the island or the Bermuda Football Association (BFA), Sutton says he has noticed interest from the island on the club’s website.
“It’s interesting,” he said. “We get a lot of web hits from Bermuda – it’s the country we get the fourth-most hits from after the UK, US and France.
“Clearly there are people from Bermuda following Luke and Knory via our website.”
Lancing said the rearranged game with Three Bridges will be played in the next six weeks.