+ Delivers its promise by launching the ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ programme for the second consecutive year in association with Manchester United, Tharunyata Hetak and The Football Federation of Sri Lanka
+ ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ is an island-wide talent hunt which will give 12 young Sri Lankan footballers, a chance-of-a-lifetime to train at the Manchester United Soccer School in England and kick-off a career in professional football
+ Commencing end -July 2013, this 3-month long talent hunt will involve participation of over 10,000 young soccer players, age 14 – 19, across 14 cities in Sri Lanka and the best performers will be hand-pick through a series of skill tests, real time match simulations, coaching clinics conducted by the Asian Football Confederation A licensed coaches appointed by the Sri Lanka Football Association and the Manchester United Soccer School coaches
Colombo, July 7, 2013: Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced the kick off of the second season of the ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ (ARS) soccer scouting programme – an island-wide hunt for young and talented soccer football players of Sri Lanka. Launched in Sri Lanka in 2012 in association with Manchester United (one of the best soccer clubs in the world), ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ is a rigorous scouting program which over the span of the next three months will cover over 14 centers across Sri Lanka and choose the final 12 talented footballers who will then get the chance-of-a-lifetime to attend a week long training camp with Manchester United in Old Trafford, England.
The ARS initiative will be hosted successfully for the second consecutive year with the endorsement of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa (President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) and the Minister of Sports, Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage with the support of Tharunyata Hetak as well as Football Federation of Sri Lanka.
This announcement was made today at The Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo in the presence of the Chief Guest, Hon. Namal Rajapaksa (MP and Chairman, Tharunyata Hetak), Suren Goonewardene (CEO & MD – Bharti Airtel Lanka), Saif Yusoof (Chairman -Youth Development- FFSL), and Gary Pallister (Manchester United Football Legend).
Commenting on the initiative, Suren Goonewardene (CEO & MD – Bharti Airtel Lanka) said, “The Airtel Rising Stars programme was about giving twelve talented footballers a chance of a lifetime to achieve their football dreams. While we were elated with the success of the inaugural season of the programme where twelve budding footballers were given the opportunity to train at Old Trafford and commence their careers in National Football, we are more than delighted to launch the second season of the Airtel Rising Stars programme which continues to bring football followers in Sri Lanka closer to their favourite game.”
Goonewardene further added, “Given the mass appeal of football and a large youth population here in Sri Lanka, we are uniquely positioned to tap and nurture young soccer talent. As a game, soccer represents the principles of team-play – it makes the perfect fit for brand Airtel. We see ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ as an exciting strategic step towards strengthening our brand positioning and appeal to the youth. With this unique programme, we are yet again looking forward to finding the best of young football talent in Sri Lanka and giving them the chance of becoming a part of the global soccer scene by training with the very best in the world.
This year too we are indeed humbled to have the support of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa (President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka), Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage (Minister of Sports), and the youth organization Tharunyata Hetak for this initiative and are confident that this platform will continue to inspire thousands of talented footballers to become professional players,” Goonewardene concluded.
The unique format of ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ program which ensures that every player gets an equal opportunity to showcase his/her skills will be held in 3 rounds conducted over a span of three months. Stage 1 will involve an all island talent scout across 14 centers (Jaffna, Colombo, Mannar, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Badulla, Kurunegala, Hatton, Kandy, Kalutara, Matara, Negombo and Kalmunai). Stage 2 will shortlist the players to 48, who will assemble in Colombo where Manchester United Academy Coaches will host an intensive football camp. These players will then 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). The final stage will involve 3 selection trials culminating in a final where the final 12 football players will be chosen as the Top 12 Sri Lankan Airtel Rising Stars who will then be sent to train at the Manchester United Academy for a week alongside the Manchester United Academy team.
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka and Tharunyata Hetak as key supporters and logistical partners of the Airtel Rising Stars program will use their football touch points across Sri Lanka to facilitate the roll out of the program.
Speaking at the event, Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, MP and Chairman, Tharunyata Hetak said, “Football, ´the sport of the people´, in Sri Lanka has experienced exponential growth on the local and regional fronts. This sort of exposure gives the sport a global frontier which was not only a first for international sporting alliances in Sri Lanka but has been a first to be brought to our country by a corporate citizen.
Last year, Airtel together with Tharunyata Hetak pledged to guide twelve young footballers towards a goal of achieving their dreams of training at Old Trafford. I have seen these twelve stars excel in the game of Football as most of them play the game they love for the country they love – Sri Lanka. A promise was also made to continue this programme by giving another batch of young footballers the opportunity of a lifetime. True to this commitment, we are here today to launch the ARS programme for the second consecutive year in our joint mission to take Sri Lankan football talent to international standards.
It has been my dream for youth in Sri Lanka to enhance the growth of the sports they love by facilitating and hosting more tournaments, using legacy and mentor programs to impart skills and knowledge to a wider populace thus further casting the net for more sporting youth talent. The complexity of football is its simplicity. All you need is a ball and some willing players and you have a game. Football is one true global sport. Legends such as Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Dwight Yorke and Gary Palister have run along the grass at Old Trafford, inspiring millions of people around the world to work hard at whatever they do. Football brings youth together – youth from different communities and backgrounds can run on a pitch and bond over a single goal. I would like to thank Airtel and Manchester United for promoting this initiative and I look forward to seeing many more Sri Lankan players kick-a-ball at Old Trafford,” he further added.
Saif Yusoof, Chairman Youth Development, Football Federation of Sri Lanka endorsed the initiative and added, “The Airtel Rising Stars talent hunt programme 2012 involved over 10,000 budding footballers across the island and I am grateful to Airtel for providing Sri Lankan youth with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Followed by over 1.6 billion fans worldwide, soccer is a cult sport amongst youngsters across the globe and it is also the world’s No. 1 sport with participation from over 300 million players in 209 countries. As the Chairman for Youth Development of FFSL, I am excited and proud of the 12 Airtel Rising Stars, who visited the Manchester United Football Academy, trained in an international environment and met some of the world class players that sportsmen just dream of. Sri Lanka is geared to take up the challenge to assist the Manchester United Technical Staff in selecting yet another batch of 12 players across the island. The FFSL pledges to create equal opportunity for all talented players to participate in a common environment and win. This Airtel initiative with its partnership of Tharunyata Hetak headed by Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, MP will continue to create history as one of the most exciting sports programmes ever conducted in Sri Lanka and will enhance the brand of Football by creating exposure for the game in the hearts and minds of the football family of Sri Lanka. True to the FIFA mission, Let’s develop the game, Touch the world, Build a better future.”
Manchester United’s Legend Gary Pallister added, “With a large base of Manchester United followers in Sri Lanka, we started working with Airtel on the ARS program last year and were more than pleasantly surprised with the kind of potential that footballers here possess. We are excited to raise the bar higher this year and take ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ into its second year of serious soccer talent scouting across all parts of Sri Lanka. ARS is one of the largest of its kind in this country and it gives us a great opportunity to coach these young, dynamic and talented players on how to play the Manchester United way”.
How to nominate a footballer for participation in Airtel Rising Stars
For participation in Airtel Rising Stars, talented soccer players can visit https://www.facebook.com/airtellife and follow the registration process.
In the year 2012, Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd had announced its tie-up with Manchester United to bring a variety of benefits for Airtel’s football loving customers. The Airtel Rising Stars program is an extension of this long term association between brand Airtel and Manchester United.
About Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd: Bharti Airtel Lanka commenced commercial operations of services in Sri Lanka on January 12, 2009, and was the fastest operator to reach 1 million customers in Sri Lanka. With its network footprint panned out across the country and capturing strategic ranking positions in various areas in less than three years of operations, Airtel has emerged as Sri Lanka’s fastest expanding network. Registered under the Board of Investment in Sri Lanka, Airtel Lanka provides digital mobile services into Sri Lanka which includes voice telephony, voice mail, data services and GSM based services. The Company has also received accreditations such as ISO 27001:2005 and ISO 22301 for its continuous efforts towards information security and business continuity. To find out more please visit, www.airtel.lk
About Bharti Airtel: Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company´s product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 275 million customers across its operations at the end of May 2013. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com
About Manchester United: Manchester United is one of the most popular and successful sports teams in the world, playing one of the most popular spectator sports on Earth. Through our 135-year heritage we have won 61 trophies, enabling us to develop the world’s leading sports brand and a global community of 659 million followers. Our large, passionate community provides Manchester United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and match day.
Photo captions: (Top) The Airtel Rising Stars of Season 1(L-R): Ahamed Shashni, Zarwan Johar, Eranda Prasad, Charitha Rathnayake, Hashan Chandrarathne, Dulip Madushanka, Avishke Fernando and Chathuranga Madushan, (bottom left – from left) Retired DIG Upali Hewage, General Secretary of the Football Federation, Gary Pallister - Manchester United Legend, Hon. Wasantha Senanayake - MP and Suren Goonewardene - CEO/MD, Bharti Airtel Lanka, launching the Second Season of Airtel Rising Stars and Suren Goonewardene - CEO/MD Bharti Airtel Lanka addressing the invitees
