Carter Brown selected for West Ham United development tour

Carter Brown, a 10-year-old soccer talent from Tamworth, wasn't supposed to make the squad for the West Ham United development tour of England.

But he did. And in September, the Oxley Vale Attunga under-11 striker will fly to London with the squad for what will surely be the greatest experience of his young life.

There, Carter will train and play matches - spending six days in London and four days in Manchester.

He will also get to see Premier League matches and visit some of the world's great soccer stadiums.

Read also:

Carter, in year 5 at St Nicholas Primary School, made the squad after attending a West Ham United clinic at Port Macquarie - his former home - this year.

He was then selected to attend a camp on the Gold Coast - a week of intense training and games that he shone brightly at, his spot on the once-in-a-lifetime tour secured.

"Definitely," his mum, Kimberly, said when asked if she was surprised her son made the squad.

"I knew that he's got some skill. But against the city kids, I didn't think he had that much of a chance, really."

Carter will be accompanied on the tour by his family - including his father, Chris, and his younger brother and sister.

"Between my husband and I, we were fighting over who was gonna go," Kimberly said. "That's when we decided we'll just take the whole family to be able to experience it."

The adventure, Kimberly said, would open her eldest boy's "eyes up a bit" in terms of what it took to reach a high level in soccer.

She described Carter as "fun, loving, caring" - someone who "always worries about everybody else bar himself".

She said:

"Now I wanna be a runner or a soccer player," said Carter, who does Little Athletics.

He said "having fun" and "going to see a few things" was what excited him most about the trip.

The Carters have started a GoFundMe page to help Carter get to London.

"Congratulation Carter! You'll smash it! Leach family are behind you!" Amelia Leach wrote on the page.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: