Airtel Rising Stars’ to bring alive young India’s soccer dreams
More than 4000 participants for Mumbai trials
- ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ is India’s largest under-16 soccer talent hunt which will give 12 promising youngsters the chance-of-a-lifetime to train with Manchester United Soccer School and kick-off a career in professional football
- Mumbai Leg starts from August 3, 4 and 5 2012, this 3-month long talent hunt will involve participation from over 10,000 young soccer players across 16 cities in India and hand-pick the best performers in skill tests, real time match simulations, week-long coaching clinics with Manchester United Soccer School coaches etc.
The Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) – India’s largest under-16 soccer talent hunt will kick off with a bang in Mumbai on August 3, 2012, with more than 4000 talented footballers registering for the three-day auditions to be held at the St.Xaviers Ground – Parel.
The Airtel Rising Stars, an initiative by Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, in association with Manchester United (one of the best soccer clubs in the world), is a rigorous scouting program that will cover 16 cities across India and choose 12 talented footballers, who will get the chance-of-a-lifetime to attend a week long training camp at Manchester United Soccer Schools.
Day one, August 3rd will see in action participants from around 80 invited schools who are expected to send in their best teams of 12 players each through Mumbai School Sports Association.
In addition to this, 4th & 5th August will witness over 3000 players who have registered online www.facebook.come/airtelsoccer for the selection trials and will go through the auditions.
The boys who turn up for the auditions will be put through the paces under the guidance of five coaches-cum-selectors, who will then pick 120 of the most talented players to advance to the next phase. These players will be selected according to criteria based on the aspects mentioned in the Manchester United Scouting Guidelines. These aspects will dwell on the technical and tactical skills, the physical and mental strengths, the social skills, besides focusing on attitude, behaviour, communication, discipline, enthusiasm and fairplay.
The shortlisted 120 players will be informed of their status as well as the venue and timing of the second phase of selections on completion of the first phase. The best three players will be picked from the 120, who will then join their counterparts from the other 15 centres to participate in the six-day final selection trials, scheduled for September.
The Airtel Rising Stars talent hunt will be conducted in 16 cities (including Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Kolkata, Bangalore, Calicut, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kochi, Shilong, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Pune and Jaipur) with the support of the respective State and District Football Associations.
The unique format of ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ program will ensure that every player gets an equal opportunity to showcase his skills and playing acumen through a series of selection criteria, overseen by renowned and officially certified coaches in each centre. The best three players from each city will then be picked to attend a final six-day camp-cum-selection trials by coaches from Manchester United. The 48 players will be divided into four teams of 12 each and will be tested on all parameters (including physical attributes, individual skills, match situations and their performances in actual matches) before 12 of the best players are chosen to travel to Manchester United for a week and to train alongside the Manchester United Academy team.
The on-ground execution of ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ has been entrusted to Procam International – India’s largest Sports marketing and Leisure Management company.
In 2009, Bharti Airtel had announced its tie-up with Manchester United to bring a variety of benefits for Airtel’s football loving customers in India. As part of this association, Airtel customers across India have been enjoying exclusive access to Manchester United football content as well as money-can’t-buy match experiences. The ARS programme is an extension of this long term association between brand Airtel and Manchester United.
