One Love FC

John recently caught up with Chandrima Chatterjee from OneLoveFC.com

At the mere age of 25, John Farnworth is regarded as the top Football Artist in the World. He has won both World and European Titles in Football Freestyle and holds 5 Guinness World Records. He also started the John Farnworth Freestyle Academy, which has so far reached hundreds of kids in the US.

Walking down the NSCAA Exhibit isle towards the Challenger Sports booth, I could already see the crowds gathering, flocking to behold his sight. John is a sweet and unassuming guy, but when he takes control of a ball (any ball, mind you), he is a brilliant force of artistic genius; the ball gravitates to his body as if tethered to a string. The invisible string is likely attached to his heart, considering his passion for freestyle and for how freestyle helps kids come out of their impoverished or otherwise meager circumstances.

John describes freestyle as a “positive way for getting kids to do something other than being on street corners and to be inspired.” His clinics are freestyle camps in the US with Challenger Sports in the following four cities: Dallas, Kansas City, Chicago, and Lincoln, Rhode Island. He wants to grow the program with other freestylers. Last year, they enrolled 200-300 kids but he’s hoping for thousands. Rightfully so, because freestyle is so accessible. “You know what, freestyle breaks barriers straight down. Everyone’s got a ball. The girls sometimes beat the boys at the performances. They can be so creative, for example if they’ve done dance before… It’s about 50-50 boys and girls in the classes. They’re not going to do be doing this on football fields, but I’m sure it builds some sort of confidence. It teaches them to think outside the box.”

I often talk about how the international sport of football crosses all borders, language, cultural and income barriers. Freestyle takes it up a notch in terms of approachability and cost and offers more room for creative expression and fun. John explains, “all you need is a ball and a little bit of space. Literally that’s it. For me it is an art form. Taking a football, putting it on a stage and trying to make the impossible happen. So it’s kind of mixing dance, rhythm, football, and just putting it all together. Some tricks are very extreme.” These clips should help explain it to you because there are no words to the magic he accomplishes with a simple ball and his body.http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnFarnworthTV

John used to play football for Preston when he was 14. Although he was skillful, his size made it difficult to compete (I can relate with that one). Freestyle came naturally and he clearly enjoyed doing tricks with the ball. At 17, while he was at college and part of the football team, his classmates would ask him to do tricks for fun. It slowly built into him doing shows locally in Preston, Manchester, then London and finally overseas.

He’s worked with Soccerade, a sponsor of the Homeless World Cup. Soccerade brought him out to the 2009 Milan Homeless World Cup tournament, which, as most of you know by now, is where my life in soccer outreach began and also when I first saw John. He noted that the international football tournament is more than just a tournament. “It’s not just the event, it leaves a legacy… The players are wicked! I enjoyed so much mixing with them, teaching them tricks. Some of them taught me tricks. Those Brazilian players were brilliant. I really enjoyed it,” he smiles thinking about them and tells me about this video they made together:http://vimeo.com/6598704

Performing at the Homeless World Cups in 2009 and 2010 opened him up to the potential for more opportunities to share freestyle with the world and do something positive. He is currently an ambassador with Kick4Life, which uses football to deliver a health education, HIV testing and life-skills program for orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho, southern Africa. After visiting Lesotho last summer, to meet the communities he raised money for when he freestyled the London Marathon (in 12hrs, 15minutes), he and his brother are working on a short film that will be used for more fundraising for Kick4Life, so keep your eyes out for that! After telling me about how he trained for and built up his endurance in the six months leading up to the marathon, he proclaims, “anything’s possible with practice.” As his international schedule becomes more manageable, John plans to be more actively involved within his own community. “In Preston, we only really have one sports arena right now. My dream would be to try to allow children that don’t have money, don’t have facilities to become more engaged somehow.” He’s working out the details still but I’m sure at this rate, by the time he’s 28 or even sooner, he’ll have it sorted out! He leaves me with the Steve Jobs quote “the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Keep changing the world, John!

Tags: John Farnworth Football Freestyle Soccer Freestyler One Love FC Kick4Life Charity