SUPERSTYLIN’

Brazilian Soccer School in Bolton, he began playing a trick-filled five-a-side variation of the game that’s big in South America, called ‘futebol de salao’. He became a pioneer of freestyling – and when asked by FC Barcelona to shoot a video showcasing his skills, he discovered that Neymar (right) was a big fan... of him! Farnworth said: “Neymar mentioned in his autobiography that he watched freestylers on You Tube and tried to use what he saw out on the pitch. “When I said hello to him in Barcelona, he said he knew who I was. I was just stunned. “Neymar doesn’t speak much English. We talked through football and he had a permanent smile on his face. “Freestyling is now a sport within a sport. We have our own governing body, and competitions around the world that draw in huge numbers on social media. “The internet has made the world a much smaller place and loads of footballers have said how they go online to watch freestylers and learn new skills.

“I certainly believe that we are seeing the benefits of English footballers using the techniques they have picked up through freestyling.

“Our players are now much more technical than they once were.”

Farnworth’s last adventure saw him write his name in the Guinness Book of Records by using his finely honed skills to keep a ball in the air whilst walking 6,000 feet up the world’s highest mountain.

He said: “I didn’t quite get to the roof of the world, but I made it to Everest’s base camp – and then went a little bit further.”

As he prepares for his next gruelling test of skill and endurance, he is training on the beach at Lytham, weighed down with kettle bells – although the hills he tackles on the north-west coast will be dwarfed by the huge dunes of the Moroccan Sahara.

It’s unlikely, too, that temperatures near Blackpool in February will get anywhere close to the 40C he will find in the desert.

Farnworth will be accompanied by a support team of four, and a group of local guides who will pack supplies, tents and satellite telecommunications on a caravan of camels.

Farnworth has estimated he will do over half-a-million keepie-uppies. He will juggle a ball in two six-hour shifts every day before taking refuge under canvas for the night, as temperatures plunge towards zero.

His inspiration will be to raise £50,000 for Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley, near Bolton. The facility requires £4million-ayear to fund its care for terminally ill kids.

After discovering that only eight per cent of that money is coming from government, Farnworth resolved to do what he could to help.

He said: “I visited Derian House last year and met children who didn’t know whether this was going to be the last day of their lives.

“When they saw me freestyling, their faces lit up.

“It was a humbling experience that really put life into perspective.

“I always try to use my challenges as a way to raise money for charity – and this is such a worthy cause.”