Rising football stars Teagan Douglas, 12, and Brianna Redding, 13, have added their name to the list of Lower Hunter folk playing at an elite level after the two were headhunted to represent Australia in Futsal.
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“It’s always been my dream to play for Australia so this is a massive achievement,” Redding said.
The two, who both play for Newcastle’s emerging Jets women’s side, made the jump to the faster, smaller, indoor variant of football for a bit of fun.
“I’ve been playing Futsal for about two years now,” Douglas said.
“It’s helped my outdoor skills, especially with ball control.”
In January they both played for Northern NSW at the 2016 National Club Futsal Championships in Penrith.
Against hand-picked Sydney overdogs their team reached the semis, but the talent scouts couldn’t get enough of Douglas and Redding.
The selection came as a surprise to both as only five players were selected for each age group.
“We didn’t even stay for the presentation,” Redding said.
“We just went home and we were sitting there eating dinner when Teagan’s Mum called my Mum.
“And she just said ‘Oh my God! You’ve been picked for the All-Star Team!’.
“It took a while to sink in, before I realised I’d be playing for the Australian team.”
The team will compete in the UK at the end of the year but neither player is sure if they can foot the $7000-plus bill.
Redding said that even if she can’t make it to the competition, she’s proud to be selected.
“It feels good, Teagan and I have been playing together for about four years now.
“She’s very talented and it’s always been our dream.”
