Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski has explained how grassroots football remains pivotal to producing the game's next big stars, with the Sweden international also discussing the importance of role models at a special UEFA Grassroots Festival of Football event, powered by EA SPORTS FC.
Kulusevski, who has emerged as one of the Premier League's top forward players, started his youth career with IF Brommapojkarna, spending 10 years with the Stockholm-based club before making the move to Serie A with Atalanta in 2016.
Speaking at the event being staged at Grimsta IP, the home of Brommapojkarna, the Spurs star said: "To be good in football, you have to play every day, all day.
"With your friends, team-mates, just play as much as you can and have fun. That's always the No.1 rule in football - don't forget to have fun. Wherever it is, you just need a ball to play football. That's the most beautiful sport in the world."
The UEFA Grassroots Festival of Football is powered by EA SPORTS FC, under the EA SPORTS FC FUTURES initiative, with the aim of promoting football at the grassroots level.
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The event integrated real-world football with the power of virtual football experiences provided by EA SPORTS, with young players from local schools and clubs taking part in activities including small-sided games, skill challenges informed by EA SPORTS FC FUTURES' digital library of training practices and interacting with the game virtually via EA SPORTS FC 24.
Asked about the importance of initiatives like EA SPORTS FC FUTURES for the development of grassroots football, Kulusevski replied: "Of course it's important. Every kid wants to play football, everybody wants to have an idol.
"When I was younger these things weren't here but I had my idols - bigger guys who took care of us and played football with us. I'm just happy to be here, help the kids, play football with them and answer their questions."
