New City College Sport student leads England Futsal team to fantastic win

NCC’s talented Sport student Jamie Brooker has just returned from captaining the England U19 Futsal team in Lithuania – leading them to a 3-0 win.

Jamie, 17, who studies Level 3 Sport and is part of the Tottenham Hotspur Football Development Programme at New City College Epping Forest campus in Loughton, scored 2 of England’s 3 goals in the game that put the team top of their 2023 UEFA Futsal Championship preliminary round group, to go through to the main rounds in March.

If England get through the main rounds, they will compete in the finals in Croatia in September.

Jamie has excelled since joining the Sport course at New City College. He was selected for the Coaching Excellence Programme with Spurs and has spent time volunteering as a coach at local primary schools.

He said: “The trip to Lithuania to play Futsal was an incredible experience. To be selected as captain, score two goals and win the match was the best feeling. I’m looking forward now to the main rounds in March.”

A hard-working student, Jamie has taken full advantage of every opportunity he has been offered at New City College.

He said: “I’ve loved every minute of my experience here. The Sport course has helped me to develop my skills and made me a better all-round person.

“Being selected for the Coaching Excellence programme, which is part of the Tottenham Hotspur Football Development centre, has allowed me to work with young footballers at schools. I really enjoy mentoring them and working alongside some of the best coaches at Tottenham. This means I will also get the chance of a job as a coach at Tottenham in the future, which is really exciting.

“The course is great because it is allowing me to develop my skills and to put into practice the theory I’ve learnt in the classroom out on the coaching field.”

Jamie says his love of playing Futsal is complemented by the skills he is learning at college: “I started playing Futsal when I was younger and haven’t stopped! I’d recommend it to everyone – it’s an indoor 5-a-side sport, similar to football, but it’s a lot quicker and is very high intensity.”

Paul Griffiths, the Tottenham Hotspur Football Development Programme Co-ordinator for NCC, said: “Being selected as captain for your country is an amazing achievement and we are extremely proud of Jamie.

“Along with this achievement he has also been selected for the Coaching Excellence Centre where he recently attended a Premier Coaching Day at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre and observed some coaching sessions with top coaches.

“He is an excellent, hard-working student and player and fully deserves these opportunities.”

Jamie is aiming to become a football coach or manager once he completes his course at New City College.