Courtesy: This is Hull and East Reading/Hull Daily Mail


Impressive young Tigers gain futsal call for England

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

HULL City's fledgling futsal scholarship is already receiving international recognition after four of its star pupils were handed England call-ups.

Alex Ellerington, Grant Tait, Grant Percival and Matthew Humpleby, who are all 18, have been asked to train with the England set-up after less than a year of representing the newly-formed Tigers Sport and Education Trust.

Since the teenagers were called up to the squad at the start of February, Ellerington and Percival have been asked to train with the under-21s.

Having joined the scholarship scheme back in September, Hull-born Percival is delighted to be rewarded for his hard work.

"It's a dream come true to be called up for England," said Percival, who also has 11-a-side experience, having played with Grimsby and Doncaster as a junior.

"I love playing futsal and played Brazilian soccer from the age of seven until I was 11.

"I only had one training session with the under-18s before being asked to go with the under-21s, which starts in September.

"The course is brilliant and I would recommend it to anyone. It's also a great way to get into university, which was my ambition originally.

"Now I've been called up for England I'm hoping to have a career in futsal or maybe gain a scholarship in America."

The Trust's futsal and education scholarship manager, Dan Nicholson is delighted the quartet's skills have been recognised.

He added: "It's great news and massive recognition for the Trust as we are still only in our first year.

"There's a real possibility that Alex and Grant Percival will go straight into the development squad, which is the equivalent of the under-21s.

"We've had two more boys this year, Charlie Ives and Ash Nield, who are both 17, who have been called up for the under-18s and are more than likely to find out if they've made it this month."

The course takes in 16 or 17-year-olds every September for a two-year scholarship.

Applicants must go through a parents meeting, futsal trial and personal interview before being considered for the scheme,

Also, the Futsal Scholarship requires them to have the qualifications of four A-C grade GCSE's or a level 2 BTEC.

There is a good balance between futsal and education, with it being a full-time course of 24 hours a week, with eight hours of futsal coaching.

"The course is very educational for the boys as well," added Nicholson. "They can achieve a BTEC Level 3 extended diploma in sport, as well as some vocational qualifications like coaching, leadership and first aid.

"A passion for football is something we really look for in our applicants but they don't necessarily have to be as skillful as some people might think.

"It's been a great learning experience for us all as it's my first year coaching futsal having previously worked with the club's youth teams."






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com