The town’s leading futsal team will compete under the name of Northampton Lions when they take to the court for the new National Futsal League season in November.

In addition to the new identity, Kettering Town owner Ritchie Jeune has joined the board of the club co-founded by former Corby Town director Chris Rivett, and it will now become incorporated into the Future Lions Group that includes teams in England, China and Argentina.

Rivett, the ex-Stamford AFC chairman, set up the club – originally known as Olympic Catuvellauni – with experienced coach Howard Willmott in 2015, and last season they completed their first campaign in the National Futsal League.

They also took favourites Kettering Futsal Club all the way in the inaugural Northants FA County Cup Final back in June, before eventually suffering a penalty shoot-out defeat.

Rivett said: “After three years of establishing the club in local and regional competition, we were extremely proud of how well the players stepped up to compete at a national level, especially given our average age of just 19 in the senior squad last year.

“We have been evaluating the best ways we can support their continued progress and we’re delighted that Ritchie has agreed to share his knowledge, network and experience of the game globally to enhance the next phase of our growth. We are excited to be working with him as we embark on expanding the reach of the club and the game of futsal in Northamptonshire and beyond.”

Jeune added: “I’ve been very impressed with the foundations that have been laid by Howard and Chris.

“Chris and I are very aligned in our thinking and from what I’ve seen, Howard is developing some talented young players here, so anything I can do to help those players and the club is something I’m looking forward to being a part of.

“Player and coach education is an area I’m very passionate about, and this is a great opportunity to expand into a new specialist discipline within football for me.”