England international player visits Redditch Futsal U14s

Based at Trinity High School, the budding futsal stars welcomed a visit from Ollie Desborough, an U19s England International Futsal player.

Ollie Desborough joined the young players in their training session.

The England Futsal player engaged with the boys, offering them inspiration with stories of his recent experience at the EURO 2023 Futsal Finals in Lithuania.

He said: "It is great to see youngsters having the chance to play futsal locally.

"Futsal is a growing sport in this country and has the potential to improve players technical skills.

"I wish the boys all the best in the upcoming tournament and expect them to do well".

Redditch Futsal was established in 2022 and is led by Redditch United U14s coach Adam Freeth.

The group was originally formed from a few keen Redditch United players and some local boys eager to develop their football skills.

It has since grown to include U13/U14 players from across the region.

The team will now be entering the England Futsal National Youth Cup regional qualifiers in the U14s category.

An exciting prospect, as they stand a chance of gaining a spot in the National finals held at St Georges Park in the first televised youth Futsal competition in England.

Adam Freeth said: "We have a cracking, talented and competitive group of lads who are a real pleasure to coach, they have adapted and developed brilliantly to the game of futsal in such a short space of time, and we have also noticed the progress in technical skills and confidence in each lad transfer to their 11 a side game too.

"The National Youth Cup will be a great experience for the local lads."

Futsal is a football-based game played on a smaller, indoor, hard court and marked by lines using a smaller, heavier, lower-bounce ball.

The fast-paced, skilled game has gained fame through big-name footballers such as Messi, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Kaka, and Ronaldo, who have all engaged in futsal in their youth.