Help Joseph get to Oslo to represent Team GB in World Champs

This is Joseph. Joseph was born and raised in Chadderton and currently attends Newman College. Joseph isn’t naturally sporty, having tried a few different sporting activities and never quite finding his niche. That is, until Year 5, when the after-school club offered karate lessons. He quite enjoyed it and once the after-school club had finished, we managed to get him enrolled at The DOJO Karate Centre in Rochdale where he started in September 2023. In the Summer of 2024, he was invited by Sensei to join the squad group and took part in his first squad competition in November 2024, where to his delight, he earned a gold and a silver medal.

These medals meant that he could then compete in the qualifiers for the World Championships, held in Norwich, which we attended in February 2025, where Joseph showcased his skills alongside hundreds of other kids and young adults from all over the country. He managed to impress the judges and we are delighted that he has now been chosen to represent Team GB at the Martial Arts World Championships, which are being held in Oslo in November 2025.

This is an incredible journey for a young boy who couldn’t find his sport, and in just 15 months has gone from being a complete novice to being invited to be part of Team GB and potentially win a medal for his country.

As his Mum and Dad, we couldn’t be prouder of what he has managed to achieve!

However, all this comes at a cost and sadly, karate isn’t a sport that is currently funded by UK Sport. We knew we were going to have to fund this and had already made peace with the fact that we couldn’t afford for both his Dad and I to fly out to watch him compete, but the costs just for myself and Joseph are a lot more than we anticipated. The estimated costs for flights, hotel accommodation, Team GB kit and paying for the training sessions is around £1,500 and this does not include any incremental costs such as food, drink, transport and so on.

We are hoping that we can get sponsorship and representation from businesses and individuals who want to support Joseph, a Chadderton lad, on his journey and therefore making his Oslo dream a reality. Whilst no logos are allowed on official Team GB kit, Joseph does have training kit that he will be wearing when he is not competing, both here in the UK and in Oslo and we would be more than happy to have the logos of any supporters stitched onto this kit. We are happy to be part of other forms of promotional activity in return for this sponsorship although we do have to agree any marketing and promotional activity with Sensei first as he, quite rightly, wants to ensure that his beloved club is aligned with businesses who have the same moral and ethical approach as he does.

Thank you for being part of this incredible journey and we hope that Joseph can bring home a medal for Team GB, but more importantly, himself. Good luck Joseph!