England honours for sports tutor

RETHYMNO, Greece — On Tuesday 10 September Oaklands College sports tutor Ryan Wharton was selected as one of the final twelve England players who will travel to the Greek island of Crete to compete in the European Minifootball tournament next month.

Ryan, who plays for the number one ranked five-a-side football team in the country, has had a very successful career so far including playing for St Albans first team, reaching the final of the UK’s biggest six-a-side tournament which sees 245 teams a year take part and now his biggest accolade to date, being selected to represent England.

Ryan commented: “I am very proud and honoured to have been selected to represent my country, it is a great achievement.

“I have hopefully inspired my students to work hard at something that they love to do.”

The tournament selection process has gone on throughout the year with scouts selecting the best players from up and down the country to attend training sessions. Players were then whittled down to the very best talent for the squads, before the final decision was made on Sunday.

The tournament will see over 2,000 supporters attend on the day of the games which is also televised on ESPN and the local channels in Greece.