The world’s number one football freestyle artist has spoken to KSN about the importance of young people playing sport, and his hopes to inspire more youngsters to get involved.
Speaking at the launch of the Kent School Games at the University of Kent, John Farnworth, who is a holder of five Guinness World Records, told KSN that this year, with the 2012 Olympics in London starting in only a few months, youngsters should get outside and get playing more sport.
He said: “We couldn’t have a bigger honour than hosting the Olympics – it will be amazing. I think there’s a culture in this country where kids get in from school and they play Playstation, but hopefully the games will inspire them. If it can get them off the consoles and get them doing more physical stuff then I think it can’t be bad.”
John could be a great role model to all aspiring young sportspeople – for someone who is now at the top of his game and only in his mid-twenties, he only actually started football freestyling at the age of 17.
He said: “Hopefully what I do can inspire children and maybe even adults to get into something different.
“I only started doing freestyle when I was 17, so a lot of people would say it would be impossible to learn something at that age but what inspired me was really seeing players that could do something a little bit different with the ball. That’s the reason people pay to watch football, and I think if there’s more of that, it can inspire a new generation of players that not only play the right way but play with a bit of flair and creativity.”
John also spoke about current Ballon d’Or winner, and perhaps the best player in the world, Argentina and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. He said: “He’s a brilliant footballer, but he’s also a good role model, he seems a humble guy, he’s not really bothered about fame or money – he’s more bothered about playing football, which I think we should make more of.”
John trains for more than 40 hours per week and has performed in over 30 countries, winning European and World competitions. Perhaps the biggest achievement of his career so far came in April 2011, when he completed the whole 26.2 mile course of the London Marathon, keeping a football in the air for the entire 12 hours and 13 minutes it took him. In doing so he raised just under £10,000 for charity Kick4Life.
He hopes in the future to open his own freestyle schools both here in the UK and overseas, and promoting freestyle in schools to children as part of a healthy lifestyle choice.
For someone who has achieved as much as he has and shown the success that hard work, ability, and determination can bring, John can be a great role model for all of the young sportspeople in Kent to look up to.