A BRAZILIAN Soccer Schools base in Oxford and the surrounding area is to be launched in March. And the local organiser hopes to attract hundreds of youngsters from the Oxford Mail and Witney & District Boys Leagues. Brazilian Soccer Schools began in 1996 when the organisation’s founder, Simon Clifford, set up the first operation in Leeds. Outposts are now found in 63 countries across the globe, making it the largest coaching organisation in the world, with around a million children on the scheme at the moment. In the UK there are 130 Brazilian Soccer Schools centres, but until now Oxford has never had one. “I don’t know why that is,” says Mark Stuart. “We coach 2,500 youngsters who are in professional academies and there’s one in Cheltenham, for example.” Stuart, 40, who played semi-professionally, is a Level 2 FA-recognised coach, is a big believer in the Brazilian Soccer Schools concept, which uses a smaller, heavier ball, that is used in Brazil, along with a radically different approach to teaching football. The main aim of BSS is to encourage children to spend longer working with the ball, practising and developing their skills. BSS saw its first international player, when Micah Richards was capped by England in 2006. To register an interest in enrolling at the Oxford-Based Brazilian Soccer Schools next spring, email m.stuart@icfds or call Mark Stuart on 07850 000050. Discounted sessions are being offered to those who get in early.
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