- August, 23 2010 -
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Monday, August 23rd 2010 – Sunderland, England: Eight young footballers from the Caribbean and Central America – who were selected by England and Liverpool football legend, John Barnes, from the Digicel Kick Start Clinics 2010 – today began their training at Sunderland AFC’s Academy of Light, where they will spend one week working with some of the best coaches in the Barclay’s Premier League.
The boys – who arrived in Sunderland on Saturday – enjoyed a rest day yesterday before beginning their training programme this morning. Academy Coach, Carlton Fairweather, put the boys through their paces today and said; “Day one of the training focused on possession of the ball, dribbling and teamwork and I was very impressed with what I saw.
“The boys definitely have ability and they showed some great techniques and skills. I will be watching them keenly throughout the week.”
Today kicked off with a tour of the facilities including the gym, the water therapy room and the senior team’s lounge. They then went through a full physical health check before training commenced.
Winner of the Trinidad leg of the Digicel Kick Start Clinics, 13 year-old Matthew Woo Ling, said; “I am very excited to be here. The Academy and its facilities are very impressive and I really enjoyed today’s training. I met Coach Fairweather when he came to Trinidad last December, so I am familiar with his style and I’m very happy to have the chance to spend one week training underneath him.”
Matthew Woo Ling from Trinidad & Tobago; Vidal Gonzalez and Fernando Meneses from Panama; Jose Villavicencio, Bryan Landaverde and Alvaro Lizama from El Salvador; and Julio Oliva and German Mejia from Honduras were the eight most talented footballers selected by John Barnes from the Digicel Kick Start Clinics.
The Digicel Kick Start Clinics are supported by Jack Warner, Vice President of FIFA and President of both CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union.
The Clinics – which kicked off on July 20th in Trinidad & Tobago, before moving on to Panama, El Salvador and Honduras – saw 150 talented young footballers receive expert coaching in the beautiful game.
Digicel has been involved in a wide range of football initiatives designed to support the development of football in the Caribbean and Central America over the last six years. Digicel, which has operations in 32 countries worldwide, sponsors 17 Football Federations and Leagues, as well as the Digicel Caribbean Cup and the Copa de Naciones Digicel in Central America.
For more information, visit www.digicelfootball.com
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ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP
After nine years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has 10.8 million customers across its 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. The company is renowned for competitive rates, unbeatable coverage, superior customer care, a wide variety of products and services and state-of-the-art handsets. By offering innovative wireless services and community support, Digicel has become a leading brand in the 32 markets it operates in, placing these regions at the cutting-edge of wireless communications.
Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its Caribbean, Central American and Pacific 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.
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 Championships and the Copa de Naciones Digicel, which are the Caribbean and Central American qualifiers to the CONCACAF Gold Cup. And in the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams including the Digicel Fiji 7s, Digicel Tonga Ikale Tahi 7s and 15s and the Digicel Vanuatu 7s and 15s. Digicel also sponsors the Vanuatu Cricket team.
In 2004, Digicel developed an American Idol-type talent show in the Caribbean – Digicel Rising Stars – to support aspiring young music artists. The annual talent show has spanned the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago, ranking as one of the top-rated shows in each market.
Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information on Digicel.
