KEVIN Davies believes the success of Sunday’s Futsal showcase is a first major step towards the game being embraced across Bolton.

The former Wanderers skipper is fully behind attempts to integrate the fast-paced, technique-oriented game into the football curriculum of schools and clubs around the town.

To help highlight the benefits of Futsal, Davies organised a showcase event at Manchester Velodrome, attended by nearly 600 people, which held the final of the Warburton Under-13s Futsal Cup, won by Broughton Community.

And while his own specially-selected side lost out 7-5 to the Manchester Futsal Club in an exhibition match involving some of the sport’s top names, the former England international believes he accomplished what he set out to do.

“At the end of the game I stood back and watched kids trying some of the skills they’d just seen and it was all worth it,” he told The Bolton News.

“We wanted to stimulate, we wanted to inspire. We’ve got people talking about Futsal, and that’s half the battle.

“Some of the lads had flown in to play on my team and they stuck around until well into the evening speaking to the kids – these are guys they’d probably only seen before on YouTube.

“It was really rewarding and I thank them and Manchester Futsal Club so much because I think everyone went home feeling they’d got something from the day.”

Broughton lifted the plush Warburtons Cup after beating Elite Soccer 7-2 in an exciting final. Earlier, Eastleigh had beaten Bromley Cross to third place.

Bolton and Bury District Junior Football League chairman Warren Barlow hailed the success of the tournament – which has already had positive knock-on effects for some of the younger competitors.

“We started off with 28 teams, most of whom had never played Futsal before – but the quality and excitement on offer has been phenomenal and you can see that by the number of fans that have turned out. It really brings out the skills.

“One of the huge positives has been that one of the young players has been signed up by Bolton Wanderers on the strength of this competition and another two or three have been invited in for training.

“It’s just win, win all round. All we need now is for more coaches to buy in, more clubs to buy in, and I genuinely think this game can flourish, and that can only be good for English football.”

Barlow also thanked Davies on behalf of the league for his tireless work.

“Day on day he’s become more involved and not because we’ve pushed for it – he’s turned up at 7am at Mossbank Park and got his hands dirty with the rest of us volunteers,” he said.

“To have someone with that stature who is so passionate about helping the community and bringing on football in the area is absolutely terrific for us.”

Darren Smith, from Daisy Hill Juniors, has been a driving force behind the sport’s popularity in Bolton, holding regular coaching sessions.

“The key is can we build on it,” he said. “We’ve got the momentum.

“We started at Ladybridge with two teams, Daisy Hill and Aspull, then on a weekly basis we started to invite other teams round – Eagley, Strikerz. The word started going round and all of a sudden we’d had 300 kids experience it over a 10-week period. The feedback was fantastic.”