MATT Allen, who lives in Threemilestone, near Truro, has been accepted into the Northumberland Open on the Badminton England Challenger Tour to be held at the Benfield Centre of Sporting Excellence in Newcastle in January 2007.

That's quite a coincidence since in the same month Truro City Football Club will be playing Benfield in the next round of the FA Vase.

Matt is playing in this event with Ian Mercer in the men's doubles who is a Yorkshire county player and the current Badminton England no. 40. This is the highest national event Matt has played in to date as, Challenger Tour events are specifically aimed at England squad players and top county players.

Other players in this event include Yorkshire's James Allinson (England no. 12) and Alex Marritt (England no. 14) plus Lancashire's rising star Tom Dunlop (England no. 23) who also competes on the ASICS Elite Tour.

Matt currently plays at Newquay, Marazion and St Agnes Badminton Clubs plus, is presently sponsored by national sports supplier Titan Sports Limited (www.titansport.co.uk) who are based in Falkirk, Scotland and is also supported by Thrifty Car Rental, Truro.

Matt has also been asked to join one of the England's top badminton clubs in 2007 - MK All Stars based at the National Badminton Centre, Milton Keynes.

MK All Stars head coach is former Olympian and Commonwealth gold medallist Sara Sankey. The MK All Stars can boast top players such as Michelle Cheung (England Ladies no. 3, current Junior Olympian and recent winner of the ASICS Elite women's singles tour) and Nick Kidd (England Men's no. 3).

Matt is also looking for further local sponsorship, no matter how small, to help towards the costs of his continued participation at similar events. If anyone is interested in offering sponsorship, contact Matt direct at matt_gooner@yahoo.com.