Scotland to host World Cup in a muddy swamp

A muddy Scottish swamp will host a soccer World Cup in June - for amateurs only. Professional players, the organiser says, are too "precious" to join in.

Stewart Miller is expecting more than 100 teams from countries including New Zealand, Germany and Finland to travel to this year's Swamp Soccer New World Championships, the third to be held in Scotland.

Teams of six players compete over two days on a pitch churned to mud by a digger in the tiny village of Strachur, near Glasgow.

Miller's hopes of an international clash between professional footballers have been dashed, however, by players' insurance policies.

"I tried to get a Scotland versus England match or Rangers versus Celtic but footballers are too precious these days. They're insured to the hilt and they're not allowed to play in these sports," Miller, who runs a management consultancy during the other 11 months of the year, told Reuters.

"Nobody's ever been injured seriously at swamp soccer - sometimes somebody's got a cut or two in the swamp but nothing big - but footballers won't do it."

Three leagues - men's, women's and mixed - make up the championships, and teams play games of 24 minutes with unlimited substitutes permitted. Fancy dress is allowed at the event, which runs from June 20 to 22.

The captain of last year's winners, the Fuddy Muckers, said the key to the game was a good defence and plenty of substitutes.

"The secret tactic was to always have one player at the back defending," Gareth Rimmington, 27, told Reuters.

"Because there's no offside rule we always had one player who was right up against the opposition's goal, so if you get a break he can get it from the goalkeeper and throw it up to the attacker."

The group, who have been playing sports together since the age of six when they met at a school in Doncaster, northern England, said their new, enlarged team could beat the tougher opposition this year.

"What's in our favour is the lesson we learnt from last year. You need some additional players - we were a bit thin on the ground last year, so we're taking nine players this time.

"It's going to be a lot tougher because we're the team everyone wants to beat this time round."

Other teams at last year's tournament included the New Zealand All Muds and the Mud Flaps.

The sport was conceived by Finnish cross-country skiers looking for a way to train during the snowless summer months in their country, and was first played in the Nordic swamps.

As well as beautiful scenery, Scotland's wetlands provide good pitches for the sport - with a little help from a digger and some extra water if it does not rain in the days leading up to the tournament.

The game does not damage the land, Miller says, as the pitch is returned to its original purpose as grazing land for sheep.

"It's fun but it's also an extreme sport because you're fighting the elements," said Miller, who is planning to start up similar competitions in Australia and the United States over the next few years.