A teen Thanet Mustangs player has been selected for Team GB to compete in the Youth European Flag Football Championships.

Chatham and Clarendon student Clove Gater will play in the under 17’s section at the tournament in Austria this September.

Clove, 17, has been playing the sport for around six years with Thanet Mustangs and also plays for Kent Exiles in the north of the county.

The A Level student has made the championships twice before, previously competing in Italy and Serbia.

She said: “It’s an inclusive sport. I really like sports that are high paced and flag football is a good mix of being friendly but competitive.

“I wanted to get involved with more sports. I used to do gymnastics and aerial art after that but wanted to branch out to something I’d never done before.”

American Flag Football is a low contact sport where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier.

It is set to be included as an Olympic sport in 2028.

Clove, who lives in Ash, says she hopes this year will be the one when the team clinches a trophy.

She also has bigger ambitions, hoping to complete A Levels to go on to university while continuing with flag football for Team GB in the under 21s.

She added: “I’m aiming for the 2028 Olympics.”

Clove needs some help raising funds to pay for flights, hotel and other costs at the Championships., where she will be playing alongside Thanet Mustangs teammate Darna Kelleher.

Find Clove’s fundraising page here.

The European championships take place at Innsbruck’s American Football Zentrum and Sportanlage Wiesengasse on September 3-7.

Thanet Mustangs train at Northdown Park in Margate with founder Head Coach Phil Cartwright every Sunday from 1pm-3pm.

The sessions, for boys and girls aged eight to 17, are free.

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