A youngster who helped lead his sports team to a World Cup final – and was even named the player of the tournament – is this week’s Young Citizen award nominee.

West Hatch High School Year 7 student Prince Sikiru plays football for Ole Futsal Academy and Watford U12s.

Futsal is a variant of association football played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors – it is considered a faster paced, more entertaining form of 5-a-side football that encourages players to develop their skills with the ball at their feet.

Prince, a popular figure at the school in Chigwell High Road, recently travelled with the Olé U12 team to Barcelona to compete in the World Futsal Cup against teams from all over the world, including Japan, USA, Columbia and Spain, including a team from FC Barcelona.

Prince helped his team win their group before they beat American team RVA in the semi-final before losing 6-4 to FC Barcelona in the final.

Prince was awarded the U12 Player of the Tournament trophy, and as a result of his fantastic achievements has been nominated for the Recorder’s prestigious Young Citizen award by his school.

West Hatch High School headteacher Daniel Leonard said: “Prince is a lovely young man with a great deal of talent. He has performed extremely well for the school this year and we are very lucky to have such a talented player at West Hatch.

“This is an amazing accolade to receive among a number of high quality performers.

“We are exceptionally proud of his achievements.”

The Recorder/Redbridge Rotary Club Young Citizen Award is about celebrating the amazing young people in our borough.

It is run by the Recorder in conjunction with Redbridge Rotary Club, and sponsored by The Exchange shopping centre, Ilford, which will provide each monthly winner with a £30 gift card.

The Young Citizen of the Year will be crowned at the Mayor’s Community Awards.

You can nominate any person from Redbridge, as long as they are under 25, by emailing lindsay.jones@archant.co.uk. Or write to us with the nominee’s name, age, contact details and why you are nominating them.