Gareth Bale 'Banned' From Playing Golf At The FIFA World Cup

Gareth Bale’s love of golf is no secret, with the Welshman sometimes spending more time on the course than on the football pitch.

Ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, Bale will need to find a new hobby, as Wales manager Rob Page has banned golf at their training camp for the duration of the tournament.

"There’s no golf. We’re out there to do a job," Page told the media. "In the past I may get Gareth, Kieffer Moore or Aaron Ramsey come up to me and say, ‘What’s the plan for tomorrow afternoon? Are there meetings?’ I’d say, ‘No, there’s no meetings, so if you want nine holes then go and play'." 

He has, however, changed his tune ahead of this competition, adding: "But that is when you have a week building up to a double-header. Out there, we won’t have enough time. Every four days there is a game. It’s relentless."

This is the first World Cup Wales have qualified for in 64 years and could very well be the first and last time Bale features on the grandest stage of all.

The 33-year-old has lent his support to Wales’ Cazoo Open last year as he aimed to play a part in growing the game in his home country, while he also became a global ambassador for the R&A earlier this year in support of the governing body’s activities to drive golf participation around the world.

The sport has also landed him in hot water in the past, most notably when he held up a banner that said ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order’ following the national side's qualification for Euro 2020, and this caused plenty of tension at Real Madrid.

A move to Los Angeles FC has enabled him to fine tune his fitness ahead of arguably the biggest tournament in Welsh football history and he scored an extra-time equaliser against Philadelphia Union in the MLS Cup final before they won the competition on a penalty shootout.

Depending on how deep Wales go in the World Cup, it could well be the longest Bale has gone without playing a round of golf.