STEFAN "LADDIE" KING has been awarded a football scholarship to Western Illinois University (WIU).

He captained Deighton Griffith Secondary School to victory in the schools' competition in 2002 and is a defender on the Barbados Under-21 team which are in Colombia taking part in the Central American and Caribbean Games.

The scholarship was obtained with the assistance of Olympian Victor Houston, who now coaches at the University of Iowa. He contacted the coaching staff at WIU and they contacted King.

Houston told NATIONSPORT he relayed all of the necessary information to the family who arranged to get video footage. This was relayed to the school and within two months, the arrangements were put in place.

The son of local cricket analyst Peter King and Clare King of Foster and Ince Cruise Services, 21-year-old Stefan attended Barbados Community College from 2003 to 2005. He has an associate degree in physical education and a grade point average of 3.09. Last November, he captained the indoor team to Martinique in the Futsal Tournament and won a FIFA award.

King is also a member of Benfica Club and was part of the team that went to the Soccer Danacup Tournament in Denmark in 2002. (SC)