TWO rising football stars will wear the green and gold on a tour of Brazil.
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Kai Bowman and Antonio Lavalle, both 15, will represent their country on the Australian Futsal Association's tour of Brazil this November.
The boys were selected for the under 15s team after their impressive play for the Southern NSW team at the National Club Futsal Championships earlier this year.
For Bowman, it's the second time he will represent his country. The goalkeeper played for the under 14s team that toured Italy last year.
"I was stoked [to be selected]. The first time, in Italy, I was over the moon and this time it felt good to realise... it wasn't just a one-off," he said.
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Antonio who plays on the wing/flank, is making his debut in Australian colours.
"It's exciting. It's thrilling. I just can't wait," he said.
The selection came as a surprise for the Ulladulla High School student.
"It was a big shock - I felt I did well, but I wasn't sure if I did well enough."
Preparation has been low-key with the boys mixing up training sessions in Ulladulla and Nowra.
Both were excited about the new indoor sports stadium which has opened at Bomaderry too.
"Recently there's a new Futsal competition [that's started]. It's really local and it's not the highest quality but we're hoping to build it up," Bowman said.
"It's good to have game time and we get to play more with a shorter distance to travel," Lavalle said.
However, the boys are expecting some of the fiercest competition they've ever faced in Brazil.
"Indoor over there is massive," Lavalle said. "It's going to be crazy."
The necessary skills and game style comes naturally to the South Americans, who are exposed to indoor football at a younger age.
"It's going to be so fast, it's going to be very difficult because they've grown up with."
An itinerary had not been released, but Bowman expected the Aussies to play local and representative teams and be introduced to new training methods.
"Apparently there's going to be some pretty intense goalkeeper training. They tell you to take off your gloves so you can grip the ball better and distribute it really well."
