Local boys set off for Brazil to compete in Neymar contest

Local boys set off for Brazil to compete in Neymar contest

Local footballers set off for Brazil earlier this week to take part in Neymar contest of Five World Final.

Local boys set off for Brazil to compete in Neymar contest

The Barcelona superstar helped construct the format for the competition. It is a fast-paced global signature 5-a-side tournament, alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Distillery Elite, featuring several of Lisburn Distillery’s young stars, will be one of 50 teams. They belong from 47 different countries and intend to compete in Neymar Jr’s Five.

Northern Ireland certainly did their country very proud at Euro 2016. They managed to get through to the final 16.

Now the five local friends are hoping to make their mark also in the football arena. They are to compete for the Neymar Jr’s Five title in Praia Grande, Brazil just next week.

Distillery Elite beat off hundreds of other young 5-a-side teams in regional heats across the province. It included DFC Dropouts in the final at the National Stadium at Windsor Park last month.

Captain Daniel Larmour (17) and his team have been training hard over the last few weeks. They want to get into shape for the tournament.

He said: “We are all friends so we decided to enter the competition for a laugh to be honest, but throughout the heats we got extremely competitive and just kept going.

“To win the national final at Windsor Park and play on the same pitch after Northern Ireland beat Belarus in their last home game before the Euro, was a dream come true.

“Most of us have just finished our A levels so we’ve been getting as much practice in as we can before we fly out to Brazil next week.

“We still can’t believe that out of nearly 11,000 teams worldwide, our team has made it into the last 50.

“What an experience and opportunity it is to be representing Northern Ireland in a global competition of this magnitude.”

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