CALNE was blessed with a little bit of the Samba spirit on Sunday when youngsters took part in a Brazilian soccer skills open day.

Budding footballers got a chance to sample the unique coaching methods that helped develop such players as Pele, Ronaldo and Rivaldo. The Football de Salao session was run by Alphie Archer at the Recreation Ground in Calne on Sunday with around 50 children taking part.

Using a smaller, weighted ball, Futebol de Salao aims to improve all aspects of the game including control and passing.

Six youngsters from the Bristol Brazilian Soccer School were on hand to show off their skills. Archer said: "At first some people were sceptical and a couple came down from local football teams to find out what all the fuss was about.

"But when they saw what was going on they were amazed. Every kid had a ball each and by the end of an hour and a half session had touched the ball more times than a Premiership footballer does in an entire season.

"We had Brazilian samba music on in the background which made for a great atmosphere."

He added: "John Bentley School are talking about running a tournament day for local schools with us, we've already done some work with the Olympiad in Chippenham and are talking about expanding that to other local sports centres."

Anyone interested can contact Alphie Archer on 07919 060555 or 07748 274 594.