But in May next year he will embark on an almost 20-hour journey to Rome as part of the Australian under-16 futsal team’s 16-day tour.

The furthest he had previously travelled was a six-hour trip in the car from Port Macquarie to Queensland.

“We’ve always driven everywhere so this will be my first-ever flight I’ve been on,” he said.

A strong performance for Northern NSW in the national titles in Brisbane earlier in the year saw him selected as one of the top five players in his age group.

The reward was a trip to Italy to pull on the green and gold of his country.

While he was hopeful of being picked at the national titles, the talented teenager admitted it was still a surprise to receive the email that informed him he was in the team.

“It was 50-50; I knew I was pretty good, but I didn’t know if I was completely up [near the top] so it was a bit of a surprise,” he said.

“I’m in the top five kids in the under-16s in Australia so that was pretty cool.”

De Silva’s ambition of playing for Australia was a goal as a youngster, but then he was focused on improving as much as he could as he got older.

He conceded if it resulted in an appearance for his country it was an added bonus.

“Making the Aussie team hasn’t always been a goal, but it’s good to have the privilege of doing that,” he said.

“Usually when I was heaps younger I was interested, but then when I got a bit older I thought whatever happens, happens.”

A background in football ensured the transition to futsal only two years ago was a smooth one.

“I’ve been playing soccer for about 10 years and played rep for the last two years and before that I was playing for Camden Haven Redbacks,” he said.

The 15-year-old was looking forward to two aspects of the two-week trip: the football and the food.

“The tournament is for 16 days, but it includes training and games and we get to see Italy as well,” he said.

“I’m probably looking forward the most to playing, but I’ve heard the food is pretty good.”