- October, 04 2011 -
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- John Barnes impressed with the talent of young footballers
Tuesday, October 4th 2011 – Basseterre, St. Kitts: After two intense weeks of pre-clinic football training and three days of Clinics, Digicel Kick Start Clinics Head Coach and England and Liverpool football legend, John Barnes, yesterday officially announced the four aspiring young footballers who have secured a place in the Digicel Academy.
The four young players – Vinceroy Nelson, Wazim Howe, Evanceroy Barnes and Hassani Flemming – were selected from an initial group of 150 young footballers to secure a place in the Digicel Academy in Trinidad from November 1st to 7th.
At the Digicel Academy, they will join the selected footballers from the remaining three countries – as well as those from Haiti, Panama and New York where they will spend a week developing their skills and technical ability as well as learning valuable life skills such as personal discipline and commitment – under the leadership of top Barclays Premier League coaches from the Sunderland Academy, assisted by John Barnes.
The St. Kitts Clinics attracted a large crowd of supporters including parents, high-school children, football enthusiasts, members of the media as well as St Kitts’ very own World Athletic Champion, Kim Collins, who came out to encourage the aspiring young footballers and witness the “Hot Shot” wild card session with the Kick Start footballers.
Digicel Kick Start Clinics Head Coach, John Barnes, said; “I would like to congratulate all of the boys who trained over the past three days – as always there was a very high standard of football on display. The young footballers of St. Kitts and Nevis have always impressed me with their skills and ability – and this year was no different. It’s clear that the local coaches are committed to developing these youngsters to one day become world class football players and I am confident that some of them will make it on to the St Kitts & Nevis National Football Team in the future.”
One of the lucky four, 15 year-old Hassani Flemming, said; “I play football because I love the sport and I have been playing football since I could walk as a baby. I hope to one day play on the National team and I am very excited about the trip to Trinidad and training at the Digicel Academy.”
The Digicel Academy will also host a ‘coach the coaches’ seminar in which coaches from across the region will get expert training from Sunderland AFC’s finest teachers.
The Digicel Kick Start Clinics programme officially kicked off on Sunday 18th September in Haiti before travelling on to Panama, New York, St. Kitts & Nevis, Grenada, Suriname, Jamaica and culminating in a week long training session at the Digicel Academy in Trinidad from Tuesday November 1st to Monday November 7th.
For more information, visit www.digicelfootball.com
ENDS
THE ROAD TO THE ACADEMY TIMELINE
Country John Barnes Clinic Dates
Haiti Sunday 18th – Thursday 22nd September
Panama Friday 23rd – Monday 26th September
New York Tuesday 27th – Friday 30th September
St. Kitts & Nevis Saturday 1st – Tuesday 4th October
Grenada Wednesday 5th – Saturday 8th October
Suriname Sunday 9th – Wednesday 12th October
Jamaica Thursday 13th – Sunday 16th October
Trinidad The Digicel Academy – Tuesday 1st – Monday 7th November
ABOUT SUNDERLAND AFC
Formed in 1879, Sunderland AFC joined the English Football League in 1890.
Based in the football hotbed of the North East of England, the club has a rich and proud history stretching across many decades, most memorably lifting the top accolade in English Football, the FA Cup, in 1937 and 1973.
Also known as the Black Cats, Sunderland play their home matches at the 49,000 capacity Stadium of Light, moving from their former home of Roker Park in 1997.
In 2010-11 the club finished in the top ten of the Barclays Premier League and subsequently made 11 additions to its playing squad in the summer of 2011 - including Wes Brown and John O’Shea from Manchester United, Swedish international Sebastian Larsson, South Korean striker Ji Dong Won and England U21 rising star Connor Wickham.
SUNDERLAND AFC & DIGICEL
Sunderland AFC has partnered with Digicel in the hugely successful Kick Start Clinics since 2008, welcoming youngsters from the project to its training headquarters as well as sending senior coaching staff to the Caribbean to lead clinics.
Steve Bruce said: “Sunderland is proud to be associated with such a successful project and we are delighted that we can continue to share our club’s expertise and help to give youngsters across the Caribbean and Central America the opportunity to achieve their football dreams.”
ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP
After ten years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has 11.5 million customers across its 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.
Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.
Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti and Papua New Guinea which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.
In 2004, Digicel developed Digicel Rising Stars – an annual talent show to support aspiring young music artists in the Caribbean. The show has spanned the Eastern Caribbean, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago ranking as one of the top-rated shows.
Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barts in the Caribbean.
Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information.
