This November, the World Cup will host the first intercontinental team in history – the University of Vaasa Centaurs from Vaasa, Finland.

While it may be the first time that a team from across the Atlantic will attend the World Cup, these will not be the first U.S. games for the Finnish squad. Captain Beto Guzman led his team on a Northeast tour this past February, playing against Harvard University, Emerson University, University of Massachusetts, University of Vassar, Boston University and Stony Brook University among others, in the first intercontinental quidditch games in history.

The Finnish team has been practicing (not in snow, for what seems like the first time) and also submitted their extremely diverse international roster for the event.

Oskar Kenttälä (Finland)
Matti Linna (Finland)
Jan Bosas (Finland)
Demelza Jane Durston (England)
Vincenzo Riccardi (Italy)
Bonca Borbála Baki (Hungary)
Jaan Popov (Estonia)
Ayush Nyachhyon (Nepal)
Nadeda Vasijeva (Latvia)
Ursula Asikainen (Mexico)
Alberto “Beto” Guzman Abundes (Mexico)

For more information on the Vaasa Centaurs, check out their website here: http://centaur.fi/quidditch/