Space tourism company SXC has promised the Netherlands football team a free space flight if they win the World Cup.
The Dutch company has pledged to make every member of the national team an astronaut if they lift the trophy in Brazil later this month. Manager Louis van Gaal will also be treated to a space flight.
SXC’s co-Founder Michiel Mol said the idea was inspired by Robin van Persie’s “flying header” goal in the Netherlands’ opening match against Spain.
“Being a Dutch firm, we feel extremely proud of our team’s current achievements in Brazil,” said Mol. “The breathtaking goal of Robin van Persie, and all newspaper headlines about ‘The Flying Dutchman’ have inspired us to also do something extra. We will literally try to take them to the next level – 103km.”
SXC’s spacecraft, the XCOR Lynx, is currently being assembled in California, with test flights scheduled to start this year. The company’s first commercial flights are due to launch in mid-2015.
“Should they win the World Cup, I expect the Dutch players to fly into space in the beginning of 2016; just in time for having actual astronauts on the field during the European Championship 2016 in France,” Mol added.
All players will receive training prior to the space flight, and SXC confirmed that the offer is on an entirely voluntary basis. But according to Mol, “not many players will let this opportunity pass them by.”
The Netherlands are currently in the World Cup quarter-finals, where they will face Costa Rica on Sunday 6 June.
Source: Travel Daily