Team members from Isle of Man-based international eGaming company Newfield will compete at the Island Games for the third time in 2017 with support from the firm.

Jack McVey will represent the Isle of Man in the men’s football team while Matthew Nicholson will be part of the Island’s badminton squad during the Games in Gotland.

Newfield, where the pair have worked for a combined six years, is covering all travel costs for Jack and Matthew to help them fulfil their goal of competing for the Isle of Man at the international event in June.

The funding enables Jack and Matthew to join fellow team members at the 17th Island Games, an international competition created in the Isle of Man in the early 1980s which brings together hundreds of sportspeople from islands around the world to compete every two years.

It is one of the biggest events for Manx athletes, giving them an opportunity to test their skills against participants from all over the globe. At the last Island Games, held in Jersey in 2015, the Isle of Man finished second in the medal table to the host. The squad will be aiming to equal or better that record during the Games in Sweden.

Newfield Director Denis Mikan said: ‘Sport is central to our business and we are always keen to assist and support local athletes wherever we can. Many of the team here at Newfield are heavily involved in a wide variety of sports, and Jack and Matthew are among those who have excelled.

‘We are really proud that they have been selected to represent the Isle of Man at the prestigious Island Games and are delighted to help them by covering the travel costs. They have done all the hard work to be chosen for their teams, demonstrating the dedication, commitment and determination which Newfield values so highly in its team, and it’s a pleasure to do our bit to get them to Gotland.’

Newfield is a strong supporter of local sport, including sponsoring the Isle of Man Sport Aid Academy, which is preparing young Island athletes to be the sport stars of tomorrow, and the Under 21 Sportswoman of the Year category at the Isle of Man Sports Awards, won this year by motorcycle trials rider Ella Doherty.

The 2017 island Games take place from 24th to 30th June.

Photo - (from left) Alex Smith, Jack McVey, Newfield Director Denis Mikan, Matthew Nicholson and Hollie McGowan.