12 Airtel Rising Stars to train at Old Trafford

Airtel announced the conclusion of its Rising Stars programme at a colourful awards ceremony held at the Sinhalese Sports Club at which the 12 best young footballers from Sri Lanka were selected by independent coaches from Manchester United to visit Old Trafford in England for an opportunity to meet and interact with the Manchester United football team.

The programme was launched in July, this first- of-its-kind island-wide hunt for young and talented football players was a rigorous scouting programme which covered 14 centers across Sri Lanka and chose the 48 best footballers from around the country for the second stage in Colombo where Manchester United Academy coaches hosted an intensive football camp and selected the 12 best players who now have the chance of a lifetime to visit Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.

Under the programme selections were held in Jaffna, Colombo, Mannar, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Badulla, Kurunegala, Hatton, Kandy, Kalutara, Matara, Negombo, Kilinochchi and Kalmunai to select the best players between the ages of 15-19. After a grueling session of try outs in the 14 centres the 48 shortlisted players came to Colombo for an intensive training workshop with the Manchester United coaches which also included academic sessions on discipline, training, nutrition, practice methods as well as drills and six a side matches, ending with a full 11 a side match.

The 12 Airtel Rising Stars for 2012 as selected by the coaches were W. S. D. Sujan Perera, M. Zarwan Johar, A. G. E. Prasad and A. R. A. Shazny from the Colombo centre, W. L. A. Fernando and A. D. Dulip Madushanka from the Kalutara centre, R. Saranraj and H. D. Chandraratne from the Kandy centre, R. A. Chathuranga and L. C. Sajitha Kumara from the Galle centre, B. M. C. B. Ratnayake from the Kurunegala centre and J. M. Niyas from the Trincomalee centre.