Teen fan Sam Donnellan lives dream as ball boy for Asian Cup

FOR a kid who loves his soccer, getting the best seat in the house at Monday night's Asian Cup clash in Newcastle is a dream come true.

Sam Donnellan, from Adamstown Heights, is among more than two dozen local soccer players who will act as ball boys and girls in the four Asian Cup matches being held locally.

"It's going to be great fun," the 13-year-old said.

"I've got the best seat in the house and Dad's a bit jealous of me."

Sam was playing for Adamstown Rosebuds until last year when he was selected to join the Emerging Jets squad, showing enough talent to ponder the possibility of one day playing in an Asian Cup match himself.

"That's the dream," he said. "I'd love to play in a big tournament like this one."

Dad Pedr said the family was excited about the match and would be watching from the stands.

"Sam's normally fairly quiet but he was buzzing when he got the [ball boy] job," he said.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him so we're all pretty excited about it."