Frome Town FC | Luke Ballinger

Friday 23rd September 2011 Tickets: £10.00 each Frome Town Football Club are delighted to have an England International in their ranks with current Three Lions Futsal Captain Luke Ballinger as part of the playing squad. Luke is the current all time top scorer for England in Futsal and has represented his country all over the world as the game continues to develop at a pace. Luke burst onto the futsal scene playing for Chippenham Futsal Club during the 2007 FA Futsal Cup. His eye-catching displays were noticed by the England futsal manager and he was invited to attend the next training camp. By 2008 he had already picked up the England captains armband but more was to follow for the forward who joined Frome Town from Gloucester City. During an international match against Andorra in November 2010 when England won 5-0 Luke became England’s highest ever goal-scorer as he notched his 25th strike. Bally, as he is known amongst the Frome faithful, wants futsal to continue to develop in England and has launched his own brand of futsal soccer schools (see advert and web link below) and with the Olympic Committee looking to add futsal as an Olympic sport he is hoping to be able to represent England in Brazil (2016). Luke is from Melksham and played for his home town Club after being released from Bristol City (where he still works as part of their academy team). He went on to play For Mangotsfield United before a move to Gloucester City in the Conference North but left to join Frome Town when Darren Perrin took over as manager. A long lay off through suspension and injury curtailed his appearances in the 2010/11 play off winning season but is now back firing on all cylinders for both Club and Country. Futsal History Futsal originated in Uruguay, South America in the 1930s. The word “futsal” is a shortened version of futebol-de-salao which literally means football in a hall – indoor football. Played with a smaller, heavier ball and without rebound boards, futsal is a much quicker and more technical version of the 5-a-side football most people in the UK play. However, futsal is the FIFA and UEFA (world and european football governing bodies respectively) approved version of indoor football and they have established the FIFA Futsal World Cup and UEFA Futsal Championships. Futsal was brought into this country by the FA in 2004, with the introduction of the FA Futsal Cup, which is an annual competition for any team to enter, culminating in national finals for the best 16 teams in the country. In 2008, the FA introduced three regional leagues (North, South & Midlands), with end-of-season play-offs and the winning team representing England in Europe!