A group of Welsh football fans are making the 5,000-mile journey to the Qatar World Cup, but some are sceptical that they will make it for their first World Cup game, as they are travelling by electric car.
Former Cardiff City footballer Scott Young will be joined by Nick Smith, Huw Talfryn Walters and Walter Pennell, who are all from south Wales, on the cross-continent adventure dubbed Electric Car To Qatar. They are leaving Wales from the Football Association of Wales' (FAW) headquarters at the Vale Resort in Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan, in their solely electric MG4 - nicknamed Morris - on October 28.
Despite the doubt, the group are confident they will be there for the first World Cup game in three weeks time. Nick said: "We know most people think this is a mad plan - we've even had Gareth Bale himself sat in the car looking a bit doubtful about whether we can actually achieve this.
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"But we're confident in the car and we're up for the challenge. We're driven by both a love for football and a passion for the positive change electric cars can bring for people and the planet. There will be bumps in the road for sure but we've got loads of support behind us and we can't wait to get to Qatar and join the other fans and support Wales in their first World Cup in 64 years.
"If Wales can get to the World Cup against the odds, so can we."
The first leg of the 22 day journey will take them through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia before reaching Greece. A ferry will then transport Morris the car from Athens to Israel, where it will then pass through Jordan and Saudi Arabia before aiming to arrive in Qatar on November 18. It total, they will have travelled through 19 countries by the time they arrive for Wales' crucial game against the USA, which takes place on November 21.
The drivers will be collecting messages of support along the way and stopping off at football-themed landmarks along the route, including the UEFA HQ in Geneva. Fans will also be able to watch the road trip as it is being filmed for a future TV show.
Scott Young, who played for Cardiff City from 1993 to 2004, told BBC that the idea, dubbed Electric Car To Qatar, came about from office chat between staff at Nathaniel Cars, and he thought they would be the first Welsh fans to set off for the tournament. Nathaniel Cars is providing the MG4 car while Go Ev Cymru - a community interest company - will support the challenge.
Neil Mooney, chief executive of the FAW, said the journey represented "all that is good" about Wales and fitted the association's new sustainability strategy called Cymru, Wellbeing & the World. He added: "We will check in with the guys every day to ensure they are on the right road to Doha and that they have found a socket.
"We can't wait to meet them on the other side before we face the USA in our opener on November 21." For the latest on the World Cup 2022, subscribe to Don't Take Me Home, our World Cup newsletter, here.
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