Channel Islands welcome Gotland as 2031 Island Games hosts

Guernsey and Jersey have welcomed the news that Gotland will host the 2031 Island Games.

The event will be held on the Swedish island for the third time between 28 June and 4 July 2031.

Both islands are likely to take large sides to the event because team sports such as football, basketball and volleyball have been included.

"I was fortunate enough to go to both Gotland Games before, the first time as a competitor back in 1999 and as chairman in 2017," Jersey's Island Games Association chairman Steve Jacobs told BBC Radio Jersey.

"They've really got their head screwed on with putting on the Games and it won't be any problems with them."

Shooting will return to the programme of sports in Gotland after what will have been an eight-year absence. It was taken off the programme in Orkney last year and will not take place in the Faroe Islands next year or the Isle of Man in 2029.

As well as being popular in Gotland, shooting is also a sport in which both Jersey and Guernsey are strong. Guernsey won 16 gold medals when it was last held in their home Games in 2023.

"It's tough when a sport comes off the programme, especially for three consecutive Games," said Guernsey shooter Nikki Trebert, who women's pistol gold in Gotland in 2017.

"Gotland is the perfect place to get shooting back because it's one of their main sports.

"They actually topped the medal table with shooting in the 2017 Island Games, so it is really a fantastic place for us to be able to get back into shooting."

Having last hosted the Island Games nine years ago, memories are still relatively fresh in the minds of those in charge of sending teams to the Island Games.

Guernsey's Island Games Association chairman Chris Jackson says he is expecting a well-run event in 2031.

"It was good last time, I'm sure it'll be good again this time," he told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"The fact that we were able to get there successfully and everyone enjoyed it and we got back successfully without too many hiccups sort of bodes well I think," he added.

"Of course things move on since then, so hopefully there will be more improved links as well."