A pair of young Perth futsal players have returned from the IFA World Championships in Spain with a sparkling trophy haul.
Perth Youth Futsal duo Jack Keast, 17, and Sam Currie, 17, also collected a lifetime of memories and scores of new friends during the week-long tournament.
St John’s Academy pupil Jack was selected to captain his country at Under 17 level and led the team to third place with victory over Spain.
Perth High School pupil Sam chipped in with group stage goals against Australia and eventual winners, the USA, in the FIFA-approved version of five-a-side football.
‘Fantastic experience’ at world championships
Both Perth players were also called up to play for Scotland’s Under 21 team, who eventually finished runners-up after an epic final clash with Australia.
The battling Scots came from a goal down to sit level with the strong Australian side, before a heartbreaking goal made it 2-1 with just 30 seconds left on the clock.
Sam said: “The whole week has been a fantastic experience and I think we have all learned so much from playing against some really strong teams.
“We had barely trained together, but we got better and better as the week went on and we were involved in some really tight games.
“Some of the American boys are more or less full-time professionals and one of them has already been on the bench for San Jose in the MLS.
“It was no surprise they went on to win it, but we managed to give them a good game and I think we even frightened them a little bit.
“The last-minute winner for Australia in the under-21 final left everyone gutted, but it’s just made everyone more hungry to come back next time and go one better.
“Jack was the only player I knew before we went out to Spain, but we really bonded as a team and we’re looking forward to getting together again in future.
“We’re also keeping in touch with the boys from the other countries that took part and hopefully we can meet a few of them again next year.”
Scotland’s under-14 team were edged out 7-6 by the USA in their final, while the adult men’s team also finished third.
The trip ended in hectic fashion when a lightning strike by Spanish air traffic controllers led to the squad’s return flight to Edinburgh being cancelled.
Organisers and parents arranged a variety of alternative routes home, but the extra hassle failed to spoil a highly enjoyable week for Scotland’s growing futsal community.
