NAIROBI, Kenya, April 12- Kenya is set to host the second edition of the Manchester United supported Airtel Rising Stars football camp that will be preceded by the kick-off of the talent search programme in June.
Tanzania hosted the inaugural football clinic where four rising stars from an equal African countries received exclusive soccer clinics under the tutelage of United’s soccer schools coaching staff.
“As a result of the success of the event last year we decided to make it bigger with the 16 Airtel operating countries expected to send participants as we host the best talent in the country,” Dick Omondi, Airtel Head of Brand and Communications Manager told Capital Sport.
He was speaking after the firm treated a number of select fans to an evening reception where they got a chance to pose with the visiting English Premiership trophy as well as interacting with two of the club’s retired aces, Andy Cole and Quinton Fortune.
The night ended with the low of a stinging defeat 1-0 for United away to Wigan Athletic but the result did little to dampen the enthusiasm of local supporters who also had a chance of walking away with signed replica jerseys.
During the event, retired forward Cole and midfielder Fortune reiterated their optimism that United would clinch a record 20th English league crown but left moments before the kick-off at the DW Stadium as the trophy tour concluded.
Airtel launched the talent search program last year in partnership with United soccer schools and the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association to identify and nurture budding talent.
“This year we will have the teams playing against each other besides going through the paces of training in areas such as technical abilities, tactical acumen, physical development, psychological and social skills development,” added Omondi.
Kenya selected Naim Ashraf, Mzee Ali Rama, Naomi Njeri and Emily Auma to the Dar-es-Salaam with the hosts, Sierra Leone and Malawi also represented by a similar number of players.
The English league trophy arrived in Kenya on Tuesday as part of the DHL Champ19ns world tour.