Annear, 27, only switched to footgolf just over two years ago, having previously played football and competed in golf as a single-figure handicapper. It was a local course \u2014 Goal in One, just 10 minutes from his home \u2014 that first sparked his interest in the sport \u2013 a mix of his favourites.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found it was the perfect mix of my two favourite sports,\u201d he said. \u201cThe owners noticed I was there quite often and said my scores were quite good. They encouraged me to enter a competition, and that\u2019s where it really started.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the transition wasn\u2019t as easy as he expected: \u201cI\u2019d say learning that just because you think you\u2019re good at kicking a football around a football pitch doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019ll instantly be good at Footgolf was the biggest challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Annear first realised his potential in the sport back in 2023 in his first national competition where he was one out of five participants to shoot under par on the Oakwood course at Ashbury golf resort.<\/p>\n
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Talan Annear from Cornwall is competing for England at the 2026 Footgolf World Cup<\/p>\n
He has since become an integral member and taken up role of captain which he takes much pride in: \u201cIt\u2019s meant a lot to me because it means that I\u2019m in a relatively important role in helping to grow the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Annear completed his goal of the year which was to qualify for the world cup which was done through amateur rankings and finishing first place. The tournament in Acapulco will feature more than 60 countries and over 1,200 players, a scale that hasn\u2019t been lost on him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it was confirmed, I literally felt the wait fall off my shoulders as I\u2019d put so much pressure on myself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels good to be a part of something so big and it\u2019s something that most boys dream of growing up. Most people into sports growing up will be dreaming of competing for their country and I\u2019ll be living that dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
England have been drawn in Group A alongside Argentina, China and Ireland. Talan admits that he may be new to the sport and recognises how competitive these countries are but still carries a positive mind-set with the aim to beat whoever is in front of him<\/p>\n
Argentina are reigning champions but being given this lifetime opportunity is good enough motivation for the Cornishman who is relishing the chance to test myself against the best.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_IMG_0938jpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Talan Annear from Cornwall is competing for England at the 2026 Footgolf World Cup<\/p>\n
Like many English foot golfers, he balances competition with full-time work at Tesco<\/a>. While he is technically competing against professionals internationally, he explains that the sport is not yet professional in England, meaning most players juggle work commitments.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt\u2019s really difficult for anyone when it\u2019s self-funded, we\u2019ve had several players pull out as the financial stress is just too much for them. I\u2019m lucky that I\u2019ve got family around me that are happy to help in any way they can.\u201d<\/p>\n There is not only financial pressure to the competing but also having to travel from Cornwall to competitions across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cTravelling from St Dennis is hard work, there\u2019s a lot of early mornings and late nights throughout the season. I spend so much time in the car, and it is tough at times being so far away from everything,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Training is also very dependent on weather<\/a> and due to England weather recently being very stormy and wet can result in Talan struggling to train due to closures of courses, but when the weather is good, he trains up to two times a week.<\/p>\n The world cup trip is self-funded, and Talan is grateful he has amazing support particularly from his wife Phoebe who has set up a go fund to try help raise some money.<\/p>\n Talan Annear from Cornwall is competing for England at the 2026 Footgolf World Cup<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s seen how much time and effort I\u2019ve put in, and she just wants to help as much as she can,\u201d he said. \u201cPhoebe also helps pay towards some of the costs throughout the year. If she wasn\u2019t there to support me and have my back, then I don\u2019t think I\u2019d even be playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Talan is also actively seeking sponsors to help cover the significant expenses involved in competing on the world stage.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always on the lookout for sponsors to help with all my expenses, so if anyone is wanting to help please contact me through talanlewannear@gmail.com.\u201d<\/p>\n For those inspired to try the sport themselves, he is also encouraging new players to get involved with his club they can get in contact through ashburyfgc@gmail.com<\/a> or by messaging through the Ashbury Footgolf team on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Looking ahead to Mexico, his ambitions are clear. \u201cAs a team, our goal is to win. We wouldn\u2019t be going if we didn\u2019t think we could. Personally, I just want to have fun, enjoy the experience and hopefully not embarrass myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Want the latest Cornwall breaking news and top stories first?<\/strong><\/p>\n Get all the latest stories, sent straight to your WhatsApp – all you need to do is click the link: <\/strong>https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/CKObHkgJF4T5fRZxiGdYqd<\/a><\/strong>We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice: <\/strong>https:\/\/bit.ly\/41EZjzx<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Cornishman is set to live out a childhood dream after being selected to represent England at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4106],"tags":[600,2826,79,224491,1735,16,15,741],"class_list":["post-811265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-facebook","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-st-austell","tag-tesco","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-weather"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116191081997475873","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_attzpG2q5YuiEt-R9XauIBa4PCu09LlON_jLRDerGdCXXQjpeg.jpg\")
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