- September, 26 2011 -
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- Carlos A. Saavedra, Alcides Murillo, Iván Darío Murillo and Jonathan Moreno are the four youngsters by the football superstar John Barnes to travel to the Digicel Football Academy.
- After a very tight competition, John also chose Luis Cañate as the ‘wildcard’ player, who will be evaluated along with six other players to be selected as wildcards in the other participating countries, where he may be chosen to join their fellows on the way to the Digicel Football Academy.
- These kids will be trained by experts from the Suderland AFC Academy of Light, where they will have the opportunity to be selected to play in this Premier League prestigious team.
PANAMA, September 26, 2011 – Yesterday in the afternoon the Digicel Kick Star Clinics 2011 were successfully ended. There were three days full of football, where the 29 participants lived one of the best life experiences next to the football star John Barnes. Coach Barnes, along with the technical team that colaborated in these clinics, chose the four players who will travel with all expenses paid to the Digicel Football Academy in Trinidad and Tobago, and train for one (1) week with the technicians of the Sunderland AFC Academy of Light, having with it the opportunity to be evaluated as prospects for this great team of the Premier League.
These four kids selected are: Alcides Moreno and Jonathan Murillo from Alianza FC, Iván Darío Murillo from Chorillo FC and Carlos Arturo Saavedra from Don Bosco FC of Chiriqui province. It also chose the young Luis Cañate from the Deportivo Arabe Unido of Colón province, as the ‘wildcard’ player. He will be evaluated along with six other players to be selected as wildcards in the other participating countries, where he may be chosen to join his fellows on the road to the Digicel Football Academy.
These four players participated in three days of technical and teamwork training with John Barnes at the Clinics held from Friday September 23th to Sunday September 25th, after participating in one of the preliminary sessions held in different parts of the country. The twenty-nine finalists were evaluated based on skills with the ball, field development, among other factors to be chosen to represent Panama in the Digicel Football Academy in Trinidad and Tobago.
The award ceremony had the attendance of Mr. Ruben Cardenas, director of Pandeportes (Panamanian Sports Institute), who with great joy for these youngsters’ achievement, said: "For us it’s essential these kinds of events to promote the sports. That’s whyPandeportes in partnership with Digicel, have always worked to give opportunities for this young talents so they can go to represent the country in this kind of activities, where we have always been well represented and we are sure that this time won’t be different."
Barnes, who seemed glad to be back in our country developing this beautiful activity with Digicel, said: “I’m very happy to return to Panama. The boys gave their best and the best were elected to live this unforgettable experience that will lead to greater love for football."
Meanwhile, the kids are very excited for the opportunity to train with great sport personalities.
Alcides Murillo said: "Im very happy. I hope I do well in this journey and may God be with us all.” In addition, Carlos Saavedra said: "I think I got here, mainly, for humility. It was a very difficult competition because there’s so much talent, but with the favor of God I got through. "
Among family and friends, the youngsters celebrated this experience they lived, next to such an important football figure as John Barnes. They showed very encouraged to continue on in this beautiful sport. Jonathan Moreno said, "I hope to be great in this, and do well what I like, which is playing football”. Also, Iván Darío Murillo said, "I’ll work hard to prove all the kids who are in involved in bad things, that God and football can help them and achieve their dreams."
Regarding this, Mara Samaniego, Marketing Director for Digicel Panama expressed the great satisfaction that Digicel has, for been able to successfully closure this initiative once again: "Digicel Panama is the number one football fan in Panama which is why each year we continue doing activities to highlight the importance of the sports and enhance the sporting culture of this country. We are very grateful for all the support this project had and pleased by the excellent results we achieved in the preparation of our future football stars."
Digicel, with the aim of giving more opportunities to the kids that who did not participate or qualified for the clinics, announced for the first time a regional online contest that will allow one lucky winner, to get a spot to train with the pros in the Digicel Football Academy in Trinidad & Tobago Digicel.
To participate, the kids must have been born between 1995 and 1997, and upload a video to the page www.digicelfootball.com from September 18th to October 17th, in which they appear playing or showing their skills doing tricks with the ball. The five videos with the most votes in the seven countries participating in the contest, will be judged by John Barnes who will decide who will be be the lucky winner that’ll join the selected from the clinics at the Digicel Football Academy in Trinidad & Tobago.
Digicel Panama will continue developing such activities consistently, with the aim to give opportunity to all young people alike, to be part of activities that promote healthy fun and improvements through sports, as is the case of the Digicel Kick Start Clinics.
ABOUT DIGICEL
After ten years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has over 11 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 Championships and the Copa de Naciones Digicel. 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.digicelpacific.com or www.digicelgroup.com for more information.
