A total of 26 boys and girls from five African countries have started a week’s football training at the Federation Rwandese de Football Association (FERWAFA) football grounds in Kigali. The training will be facilitated by Arsenal Soccer School coaches. The participants are from Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and Uganda jetted into the country on Sunday joining their Rwanda counterparts for the much anticipated Airtel Soccer Clinic. The training will take place and will focus on teaching professional football.
Airtel partnered with Arsenal football club to facilitate the hosting of a week-long football tournament for select players identified through the last season of the Airtel Rising Stars tournament. These young talents will be trained by two UEFA qualified coaches. The young footballers will have once in a life time chance to meet an ex- Arsenal player who will attend the training sessions later this week. This soccer clinic takes place before the launch of the fourth season of Airtel Rising Stars.
“Football is not just a fun sport but it can also be a career path that can change a player’s life. We know that through this football clinic that Airtel has organized in partnership with Arsenal will equip young talent for professional football careers. We anticipate that the skills gained will empower the young stars to play for national teams in their respective countries,” said FERWAFA president, Vincent DeGaule Nzamwita.
The training involves physical, behavioral and technical ways of playing football with emphasis in both practical and theory lessons. It includes dribbling, passing and shooting tactics and most importantly equips the footballers with discipline measures. This soccer clinic offers the young footballers an opportunity to get football knowledge, improved skills and experience from the Arsenal Soccer School coaches.
In his remarks, Airtel Uganda Managing Director, Mr. Arindam Chakrabarty said, “Airtel is dedicated to nurture young talent through the Under 17 grassroots football initiative that enables us to reach out to the youth. It is our desire to see young Africans live their dream and soccer is one of our major platforms in doing so .This Soccer Clinic provides world-class training to the youngsters and creates a great opportunity for the young players to engage more in the game. We believe that this training will earn them skills that will empower them in this career path.”
The Airtel Rising Stars initiative is the biggest Under-17 grassroots tournament on the African continent that aims at identifying talent and nurturing upcoming footballers. One of the aspects of this initiative is the soccer clinics where selected talent gets the opportunity to sharpen their raw skills. This football initiative gives equal opportunity to both boys and girls to get a chance to love their dreams of playing on a national stage. This football tournament has yielded many success stories and has enabled several upcoming soccer talents to join Africa Premier League clubs and their respective countries’ national teams.