Inaugural Youth Development Clinics to Visit Eight Countries Around the Region
Kingston, Jamaica: Digicel, the largest sponsors of football in the Caribbean, today announced details of the 'Digicel Kick Start Football Clinics', which will offer talented young footballers a once in a lifetime chance to learn invaluable footballing skills from arguably the Caribbean's greatest ever football player, while at the same time being afforded the chance to realize their dream of becoming professional footballers.
Led by former England and Liverpool star John Barnes, who takes on the role of Head Coach for the clinics, the Digicel Kick Start Football Clinics begin in early 2008 and take place in Guyana, Barbados, Haiti, Antigua, Suriname, Trinidad, St. Kitts and Jamaica. Six of the most talented young footballers to participate in the clinics will be chosen by John Barnes to travel to the UK to spend a week at a top English Barclays Premier League football club, where they will take part in an intensive training session with the club.
Speaking at the photoshoot for the Digicel Kick Start Football Clinics, John Barnes said, "I'm looking forward to the clinics and to seeing the level of talent amongst the next generation of Caribbean footballers. You see what happened in Africa 20 to 30 years ago when a lot of people were slow to recognize the talent, well, the Caribbean is an untapped market. Talent here needs to be harnessed and given an opportunity and these clinics developed by Digicel are an opportunity to do just that. In England, they now recognize the fact that although Africa is saturated, this is the next place where you are going to get talented footballers coming out to grace the Premier League."
Digicel Group Commercial Director, Brian Finn, said of the clinics, "The Digicel Kick Start Football Clinics offer young aspiring footballers a fantastic opportunity to learn key skills of the game by training with world-class footballer, John Barnes. Digicel is already a huge supporter of Caribbean football through the Digicel Caribbean Cup, Digicel Shield and Digicel International matches and these clinics are another example of our commitment to the game."
The clinics, which are run in association with the Caribbean Football Union, were developed by Digicel, with the support of FIFA Vice-President, Jack Warner, who has been a huge assistance to Digicel in helping raise the profile of football in the Caribbean.
Full details of the Digicel Kick Start Clinics will be announced over the coming weeks and will include details on how local clubs and school teams have the opportunity to be part of these clinics which will help them realize their dream of being the next International football star from the Caribbean, playing in the Barclays English Premier League.
About Digicel
Since its launch in 2001, Digicel has become the fastest-growing wireless telecommunications operator in the Caribbean. Digicel is renowned for competitive rates, unbeatable coverage, superior customer care, a wide variety of products and services, and state-of-the-art handsets. It is the largest GSM operator in the region.
Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and has operations in twenty three markets, including Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, Curaçao, The Cayman Islands, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and El Salvador. Digicel also has a license in Guatemala and coverage in St. Martin and St. Barths.
The company is the lead sponsor of Caribbean sports teams including the West Indies Cricket Team, Special Olympics teams across the Caribbean and is title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Football Union Cup, which involves over 30 Caribbean countries and is an important qualifier towards the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
For more information, visit www.digicelfootball.com
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