Thirty six of the most talented university footballers took a step towards competing at next year's World University Games in Belgrade.
The group met at Warwick University for a two-day camp on 6 January to battle for the 28 places on this season's English Universities squad.
But the WUGs in Serbia are the main focus for the current crop.
"This two year programme has been designed to give the players the opportunity to get on that plane in 18 months time," said Head Coach James Ellis, from Loughborough University who is also first team coach at Conference North Club Nuneaton Borough.
"The standard of football in HE is often over looked but we are slowly raising the profile.
"It is great to see that managers in the game can see the long term benefits of this programme. The camp was very professional and would match any international set up.
"The facilities, the coaching staff and the medical support were first class and enabled the players to concentrate on performing."
Marc Richards, this season’s English Universities captain and currently studying at UWE Hartpury, added: "It doesn’t matter what level it is at, it is an honour to pull on an England shirt. The lads really enjoyed being out of their club or university comfort zone and being on this programme."
In the last two years, six players have come through this system and have gained professional contracts, the most recent being former Loughborough University student Leon McSweeney who has recently signed a two year deal with Stockport County.
Over the two days the players participated in a technical assessment, were given advice on nutrition, recovery and tournament play and assessed in their ability to work in a squad environment.
Ashley Allanson, who is studying at the University of Hull and is a member of the England Futsal Squad, said: "To be honest I was surprised at the standard, I really enjoyed being involved. The set up of the two days was really professional and I look forward to being able to wear the England shirt again."
Over the two days Dawn Scott (Sport Scientist), Paul Holder (National Coach), Graeme Dell (National Coach for Futsal), Mark Phillips (National Goalkeeping Coach), Dr Matt Pain and Martin Jones (Football Psychologists) from The FA delivered sessions to the players.
George Carney, BUSA Football Development Manager, added: "This partnership demonstrates how we can successfully work together to assist The FA and BUSA football development programmes."
This was highlighted by English Universities Team Manager, Steve Sharman who added: "Not only does the HE sector have many talented players in the system but we also have many talented coaches and support staff. All of The FA staff we worked with went through the system at some stage and there are a huge number that did not make the professional playing ranks but play a significant part in the game.
"A great example of this is Tony Strudwick who is first team fitness coach at Manchester United, who graduated from Loughborough University, and Dario Gradi who is now Director of Football at Crewe Alexandra."
Squad: Jordan Yorath, Simon Lynn, Johnny McCloughlin, Rob Taylor, Chibuzor Chilaka, Liam Green, Paul Casey, Liam Hopkins, Luke Wildman, Matt Shaxton, Russell Courtney, Andy Russel, Andrew Battersby, Lee Molyneaux, Exodus Geohagan, Jon Scarborough, Chris Knowles, Roy Sanderman, Ashley Allanson, Bradley Pritchard, Mark Noon, Marc Richards, Bruce Hogg, Michael Symons, Andy Rushbury, Andy Brown, Alex Rodman, Will Morford.