Allianz Shaping the Football Stars of Tomorrow
The annual Allianz Junior Football Camp concluded recently in Bali, Indonesia with great fanfare. The four- day programme is a much looked forward to event with exciting training sessions led by FC Bayern legends Klaus Augenthaler and Giovane Elber. Hence competition to attend the camp is fierce with thousands of school children between the ages of 14 and 16 from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Thailand vying for the opportunity. From Sri Lanka Jehan Atapattu of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and Chamanth Kodithuwakku of Nalanda College secured spots.
In addition, Jehan Atapattu was also awarded the Good Sportsmanship award. This will give him the opportunity to undergo one week of football training at the prestigious Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar. He beat out 48 other candidates to win the chance to attend.
Jehan won this opportunity by embodying the principles of good sportsmanship both on and off the field during his time at AJFC Asia. The selection committee believed he showed compassion, respect, love, enlightenment, balance, and joy during his time at the camp and that these qualities complemented his already exceptional skills on the field.
“The Allianz Junior Football Camp Asia gives participants from 8 different countries the chance to train like professionals in a once in a lifetime opportunity. They gain invaluable experience both on and off the field that they will carry with them through the rest of their lives. Allianz is proud to be a part of this adventure and help shape their future. And we congratulate Jehan on winning the Good Sportsmanship Award and continuing to pursue his d ream at the Aspire Academy,” said Surekha Alles, Chief Executive Officer - Allianz Lanka.
The Aspire Academy is an internationally renowned institution for sports excellence catering comprehensive programs for sports education and revolutionary sporting facilities of international calibre.
“We congratulate Jehan on winning the Good Sportsmanship Award and we are looking forward to welcoming him to Aspire Academy. During his week at the Academy he will have the opportunity to join the training sessions of one of our football teams, he will undergo football performance testing and will have the chance to discuss possible areas of improvement with our top coaches. Besides that, he will have time to explore Doha and get to know the Qatari culture better,” said Markus Egger, Director of Sport and Strategy at Aspire Academy.