July, 27, 2014
Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced that the second batch of young footballers selected through the Airtel Rising Stars programme Season II, will embark on an unforgettable tour of Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, on Monday July 28, 2014. 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 programme 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 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 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 progamme kick started with the endorsement of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa (President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) and with support from Hon. Namal Rajapaksa and the Tharunyata Hetak organization.
Photo caption: (Standing from left) Indiva Udara, Sanjula Thilan, Charith De Chickera Head of Brands and Marketing Communications – Bharti Airtel Lanka, Suren Goonewardene Chief Executive Officer – Bharti Airtel Lanka, Hon Namal Rajapaksa MP and Chairman - Tharunyata Hetak, Chandrashekhar Singh Chauhan Chief Marketing Officer – Bharti Airtel Lanka, Rukmal Perera Director Media and Marketing - FFSL, Charmara De Silva, Mohamed Riskhan and (seated) Mohammed Nifraz, Janith Piumal, Poornima Sandamali Perera, Ashen Jeevantha, Manoj Lakmal Fernando, Dilshan Tharinda. (Absent – Suranga Dinushan, Sakura Sewandi)
About Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd: Bharti Airtel Lanka commenced commercial operations of services in Sri Lanka on January 12, 2009, and was the fastest operator to reach 1 million customers in Sri Lanka. With its network footprint panned out across the country and capturing strategic ranking positions in various areas in less than three years of operations, Airtel has emerged as Sri Lanka’s fastest expanding network. Registered under the Board of Investment in Sri Lanka, Airtel Lanka provides digital mobile services into Sri Lanka which includes voice telephony, voice mail, data services and GSM based services. The Company has also received accreditations such as ISO 27001:2005 and ISO 22301 for its continuous efforts towards information security and business continuity. To know more please visit, www.airtel.lk
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