Diego Maradona Junior in white is expected to be in the Italian team for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup being held in Marseille, France from July 17-27 2008.

Football’s Hidden Story is a unique project which aims to show that there is another side to football - away from professional leagues and highly-paid players. These stories are mostly about ordinary people with extraordinary lives and they tell how football has motivated or inspired them in a variety of ways. But sometimes they are about  people who have taken on a challenge to make the most of their talents in a most unexpected way.

Take Diego Maradona Junior, who had the unenviable task of trying to live up to the talents of his famous father. He wasn't a huge success on grass but is proving to be very skilful on the sand surface and is now hoping to be in Italy's team for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup being held in Marseille from July 17-27 this year. (See Story No.7 'Beach Soccer's European Deam').

But contrast that with a story from Nepal where children have been rescued from a life on the streets,  surviving by picking through garbage dumps, and are now at the Sahara Football Academy being housed, educated and learning to play football (see Story No.18 'Top of the World').  

Written versions of the stories are available on this site, which is designed exclusively for use by the written media. Journalists and picture editors may also download high-quality high resolution photographs with a simple click from the Image Gallery. Please click Information for Journalists to see how to use the site.

Football's Hidden Story is supported by the game's world governing body, FIFA.