London Blitz are hoping to raise enough money to help cover the cost of travelling to Serbia to compete in their first Champions League 'Final Four' tournament at the end of this month.

The Finbury Park-based American Football club have called on supporters to help them raise £10,000 to help take a bus of 50 players and coaches on the 1,500 mile journey across Europe.

The team have been competing in European competition for the last six years and this year qualified for their first Champions League Final Four tournament which is being held in Belgrade.

London Blitz earned their place in the final stages after a comprehensive 55-0 victory over Osis Rivas in Madrid in May. The result also secured the English club the number one seed and a semi-final tie against Serbian side SBB Vukovi.

Chairman Ed Morgan set up a GoFundMe page, which has already raised £5,690 in one month but they are targeting £10,000 before the competition gets underway on Friday, July 24 with the final taking place two days later.

Morgan said: "We thought that wins against Spain and France's top teams had got us through to the final tournament somewhere in Western Europe until the finals were awarded to Belgrade, Serbia.

"As an amateur team, without a sponsor this year, our players and coaches bear all the costs of competition and the Eastern bloc has really got us stumped and this is where we need the help our friends, family and supporters.

"We won't be travelling flash harry style and all our players and coaches will still be paying but we really need help to cover the costs of our bus as we traipse 1,500 miles across Europe."

He added: "When we set up our GoFundMe page, we were hoping our friends and family would be keen to support but it’s so touching to see our community supporting us as well. We’d like to thank everyone who has so generously donated so far and hope we can make the final target before the end of next month."

To donate log on to http://www.gofundme.com/vhjb3vg.