Tim Lees' soccer skills have won him a starring role in an international advertising campaign and a chance to kick start his career in the US.

Tim, aged 21, has been chosen as the star of a new Coca-Cola advert to encourage young people to play football.

The campaign, which will be headed by Wayne Rooney, will be launched in the next couple of weeks with the advert shown on the Coca-Cola website.

Last year Tim, from Golborne, impressively beat off 20,000 footballers to win the UK Pepsi Max World Challenge and went on to represent the UK in the World Challenge, playing against 11 other countries finishing a credible fourth overall.

The competition was filmed by Channel 4 and involved Tim training with the likes of Thierry Henry, David Beckham and Ronaldinho.

Tim entered another nationwide search to find the best eight amateur footballers in the country, to be chosen and managed by Jamie Redknapp.

The players, selected from 8,000 hopefuls, competed at the World Cup finals in the Cologne stadium, with Tim finishing England's top scorer.

And at the start of this month, Tim was approached by a club in Maryland, America, and asked to play for them. He has signed to a three-year scholarship deal.

However, it has not always been plain-sailing for Tim, who was rejected as a youngster by Everton and Bolton.

He said: "Since being released by Bolton I have had a drive that won't let me fail. I have learned to manage my distractions and want to push the boundaries always, something which probably failed me when I was younger."