"When we heard our personal funding was being stopped it was heartbreaking," said the 33-year-old Scot, who has said she will be retiring after the Games.

"Because we had done everything right and the authorities pretty much told us we were on the right lines and doing everything right to continue our funding.

"At the end of the day it was out of our hands because of the general economic situation, which was understandable.

"But it was a little bit disappointing that the channel relocated from trying to get this legacy for sports that hadn't had a chance to funding medal hopes.

"That was how it shifted.

"Of course it was disappointing, but at the end of the day I think it actually made us a better team.

"We had to work really hard to get to where we are just now."


When the news about the funding broke, the players had two weeks to leave their training base in Denmark and to find a new situation.

Norwegian second division side Asker were short of players and offered to help the British handballers out in terms of accommodation.

While it was a vital stopgap, the reality was that eight women were living together in a three-bedroom house without funding.

McCafferty managed to make a little money as a cover teacher at a local school, but for three of the eight the situation proved too much and they dropped out of the programme.

"It took a lot of guts and determination from the team to make things work," McCafferty recalled.

"We lost several players at that point.

"I needed financial help from my mum and dad, Tricia and Brian, and my husband Gary.

"My family made a lot of sacrifices on my behalf.

"As things turned out, 2009 was probably our best year, when we became the first British team to reach the Euro qualifiers.

"It was something that maybe we couldn't have done if we hadn't had to fight a little bit more for it.

"We had to find something within ourselves to continue.

"If they had continued to give us something on a plate maybe it would have been different."

In January this year a new partnership sponsorship from international law firm Pinsent Masons and Collins Stewart Wealth Management helped with the funding situation, but both the men's and women's squads have still struggled  financially in the run-up to the Games.


"The last couple of months have been hard for us financially," McCafferty (pictured above) said.

"If we'd had a couple of extra thousand pounds it really would have helped.

"Since January our association has been finding it really difficult financially.

"We wanted to compete or play against different teams and it's been quite demanding – they've really had to stretch the purse-strings for us.

"We've been in such a hard financial situation for such a long time that we needed some help from somewhere.

"The two sponsorships we got in January have been a help – it would have been even harder without them.

"But the Games start three weeks tomorrow, and I'm excited.

"I can say it now that I am selected – I can't wait.

"We've come from nothing and now we are ready to go to an Olympics and to show everyone that we can be competitive.

"I am a really emotional person, and the Olympics feels a bit like my wedding day.

"People were saying 'you are going to cry', but I was just so happy and excited I didn't cry once.

"I'm so honoured to be going to the Games, so excited.

"I want to experience them fully – and maybe I will get emotional when they are over."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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