What English football can learn from freestyle world record holder Ben Nuttall

With the likes of Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho, and Callum Hudson-Odoi currently gracing the pitch for the national team it’s fair to say that English football just isn’t what it used to be.

For decades, the stereotype of favouring strength and height over technical ability and creativity has tarnished the domestic reputation of players and coaches.

But the new crop of fearless talent coming through will help the English game, according to freestyle football world record holder Ben Nuttall.

The 18-year-old is a passionate advocate of integrating more skill moves into the mainstream game, saying it will massively improve English football for the better.

“We should be more like Brazilian football, where they’re incorporating skills and fast passing,” Nuttall tells i. “Young English players will develop much more doing that than just hoofing the ball and hoping it reaches a teammate.”

Foundation skills

It was only freestyle that gave Nuttall a space to express himself after his size proved a barrier in the team game and as a result his first touch, agility and balance all improved.

While freestyle football doesn’t translate seamlessly into 11-a-side, the foundation skills developed can certainly aid it, he adds.

Nuttall gave up on all forms of the team game to pursue his individual freestyle dream. The Birmingham native now holds the world record for the most kick-ups with a rugby ball (187), the most neck passes in a minute (41), which he completed with fellow British freestyler Rebaz Mohamed, and the most football touches in one minute whilst wearing 5kg ankle weights (217).

The Brazilian model

Brazilian football provides a good model for the freestyler’s vision – to Nuttall, the environment is transformative, from the attitude of the coaches to the innate focus on creativity above all else.

“In England, a lot of kids don’t use skills during matches. If you look at Brazil, for example, it’s different,” he says.

England may have gone further than Brazil in last summer’s World Cup, but the individual inspiration from the likes of Alli, Sterling, and Jesse Lingard could have been in spite of their youth coaching, Nuttall says.

“Coaches shouldn’t neglect skills – when kids are trying to express themselves, they tend to frown upon it. There’s a time and place for using skills, but English football is still too much about releasing the ball quickly or lumping it away. I’d just say to not neglect it.

“While winning is a priority, there’s no reason why players shouldn’t have a go at performing some skill moves or being creative when you’re 3-0 or 4-0 up. Kids should be able to do that without getting shouted at.”

‘Players can’t express themselves’

And the facilities are also to blame – last year, the FA reported that only one in three pitches at grassroots level are usable – and, to Nuttall, this deficiency shapes the style of the game at the lower levels.

“Players can’t express themselves because of the state of the pitches,” he adds. “They’re just dreadful – muddy, bobbly and you can’t compare that to other countries where you play on the floor properly.

“It’s why I quit the team game – the ball gets booted too often and when you do get the ball down, it’s tough to perform skill moves or intricate passing.”

Into the mainstream

Social media and websites like YouTube have launched a once-fringe sport into the mainstream. The F2 freestylers, a duo who have collaborated with the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar, have amassed almost 10 million subscribers.

Nuttall, who started plying his trade after watching world freestyle champion Andrew Henderson, believes this surge in popularity can change lives for the better outside of the sport, like it did with his own.

“It gave me something I could focus on – it’s an individual sport and it kept me on the right track, helped my confidence,” he says.

“When I was younger, 12 or 13, I was causing trouble at school, but freestyle football gave me something to focus on. The message I try to give is that when you have something to focus on, you forget all the other distractions in your life.”

Inspiring the next generation

The central aim is not to create a new generation of Ronaldinho-type players, but to inspire young people to have a target in mind and work towards that.

He adds: “I was playing regular football, but it was half-hearted. When I found freestyle, I was instantly hooked and it was so much fun. I put in so many hours which got me to this level – but I only did so because I enjoyed it and had an objective.”

“I go to schools, youth centres, even youth prisons. I don’t expect them to take up freestyle football, but my message is to have that goal, whatever it is.”