Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Monday, 28 July 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
During their one week stay in England the team will visit the Manchester United Academy, go on a tour of the Old Trafford stadium and dressing rooms, visit the Manchester United Megastore as well as meet their favourite Manchester United players. In their leisure time they will also visit the Alton Towers theme park and the Trafford Centre, the largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom.
The Airtel Rising Stars program which was conducted for the second consecutive year was an island wide talent hunt at which the 12 best young footballers in the country 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.
Under the program, 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 2014 as selected by the Manchester United coaches were Chamara De Silva, A.G.I. Udara, Suranga Dinushan, D.S.A. Janith Piumal, M. Riskhan, Mohammed Nifaz, Ashen Jeewantha, Lakmal Fernando, Sanjula Thilan, Dilshan Tharindu, K.P.S. Perera and Sakura Sewandi.
The Airtel Rising Stars progam kick started with the endorsement of President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa and with support from Namal Rajapaksa and the Tharunyata Hetak organisation.
