The England korfball team at the World Championship this month will have a bit of a family feel about it.

David and Sam Brooks – brothers from Croydon – have both been included in the squad to represent their country in China in the relatively unknown sport, which has men and women playing alongside each other and shares similarities with basketball and netball.

“Everybody is looking forward to the World Championships,” said 26-year-old David, who has played korfball since he was eight.

“It is good to see how different cultures play the sport.

“More than 60 countries are playing korfball around the world and we are in the World Championships so hopefully we can get the sport into the Olympics in the future.”

David and Sam play alongside their brother and sister for Trojans, where their father is coach and mother fitness trainer.

In a recent years, Croydon has become a hotbed for the sport with fellow Croydon-based teams Croydon and Mitcham – who play at Trinity School – joining Trojans in England’s top national league.

The England senior team trains at Whitgift School, where the national league will be rounded off with a multi-game day in April.

“Croydon is a big area for korfball,” added David.

“We do a bit of coaching at St Thomas Becket School to try to get the children involved as we believe that is key to the future of the sport.

“We are trying to get more people to watch by holding it at these multi-sport events, which allows spectators to watch a number of games in one day.

“Holland has the system and they get thousands of people watching korfball.”

Trojans began their league season on Sunday when they beat KV 20-10, while Mitcham beat Nomads 19-15 and Croydon lost 18-5 to Bec.

The England squad raised their profile last month by each sprinting 100m 27 times in relay fashion to try and better the world marathon record.

They ran the 26.2 mile distance in one hour, 45 minutes and 28 seconds, 18 minutes quicker than the new world record set by Kenyan Patrick Makau.

The sprint was designed to raise funds to cover the cost of the World Championships.

Donations can be made at marathonsprint.com.