Milo makes Barcelona dream of six young football champions come true

First row from left: Widusha Vinodya - Kavisigamuwe Maha Vidyalaya; M.A.A. Shan - Trinity College; A. Simar - Pulawarmani Sherifudeen School; K.M. Katheem - Al Aqsha National School Kinniya; M.I.M Zaid - Hameed Al-Husainia College Colombo; M.A. Dulini Sandeepani - Bediwewa Maha Vidyalaya Polonnaruwa Second row from left: SLSFA President Hemantha Abykoon; Corporate Affairs Senior Manager Damitha Kulatunga; SLSFA Lady Chaperon Sunethra Samarasingha 

Six young talented Sri Lankan football players flew to Spain for a fully-sponsored trip by Milo, to make their ultimate football fantasy come true. They will be attending a four-day coaching camp run by FC Barcelona, where world-class football training will be offered by Milo’s ‘Road to Barcelona’, presenting the participants with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Milo’s efforts to develop local football champions among schoolchildren kicked off with an All-Island Under-12 football tournament, where the six best players were selected after an extensive training for an all-expenses-paid trip organised by Milo to a four-day football coaching camp run by one of the leading professional football clubs in the world, FC Barcelona. 

Partnering the Ministry of Education and the Schools’ Football Association, ‘Road to Barcelona’ is an initiative taken by Milo to develop local football champions and give them a wholesome experience of the international football arena. The six lucky winners who embarked on this Barcelona mission are M.I.M. Said of Hameed Al-Husainia College Colombo; M.A.A. Shan - Trinity College Kandy; K.M. Kalheem of Kinniya Al-Aqsa College; A. Simar of Pulawarmani Sherifudeen School; Dulani Sandeepani of Bendiwewa Maha Vidyalaya Polonnaruwa and Widusha Vinodya of Kavisigamuwe Maha Vidyalaya. The children will be accompanied by a teacher, President of the Sri Lanka Schools Football Association (SLSFA) and an employee of Nestlé Lanka.

They departed the country on 29 September and will witness the ultimate football experience of attending a training at Camp Nou, the home stadium of FCB. The coaching camp will be held from 1-3 October inclusive of the Escola football clinic, technical skills development on the pitch, Camp Nou classroom sessions, museum visit, city tour, interact with FC Barcelona coaches and take part in many fun-filled games while getting along with team members of participating Milo countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, Indonesia, Australia and Pakistan. The kids and their guardians will return to Sri Lanka on 5 October.

A special note of thanks goes out to the coaches of the Sri Lanka Schools Football Association (SLSFA), the Sports Division of the Ministry of Education, the coaches of the winning schools for training the children and the parents of the children for being a constant source of support.