FOF is born
Luke Ballinger and James Stapleton originally formed Future of Football with the current Houston Dynamo Head of Goalkeeping, Jason Grubb back in 2011.
It all started with football sessions for 3 and 4-year-olds inspired by Jason’s coaching in the USA. Jason Moved to Texas permanently and Future of Football would continue with a new look and an exciting new offering.
How FOF evolved
James’s eldest son had a bad experience of the game during a training session for a local team, he played a match of 15 v 15 and kicked the ball once in 30 minutes. James had to ask himself how on earth would his son ever develop as a player in this environment?
This experience inspired James and the new FOF directors to create something unique in the area, football sessions where ball-rolling time was maximized. Every player had a ball at their feet for the majority of each session and skill-based learning was the foundation of every session.
Director Luke Ballinger had always believed that the next generation of England stars would come through a futsal-influenced background, (you don’t need to look far to find the world’s greatest players who played futsal at a young age Ronaldo, Coutinho, Messi, Ronaldhinio to name a few) so Futsal was infused into the FOF programme. In today’s game, Wolves’ incredible young defender Max Kilman has shown how a futsal background gives you so much confidence on the ball. His stats don’t lie!
FOF now provide players of all abilities with skill-based sessions. Whether they are new to the game or experienced - they will receive high standards of technical football coaching at an affordable price. James and Luke wanted to create a place where players could come and learn at their own speed, in a fun and engaging environment.
FOF today
8 years on and FOF are building a great reputation as one of the South West’s leading football development providers.
If you like what you hear and would like to give it a go, click your age group of interest below for more details
FOF directors Luke Ballinger and James Stapleton
Our first FOF sessions in 2011
Our first FOF sessions in 2011