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Guyana kick starts Digicel football clinics
Guyana kick starts Digicel football clinics
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Former England and Liverpool winger and current head coach of the Digicel Kick Start Clinics, John Barnes (centre), shares a moment with head of promotions Digicel, Kieran Foley (left), and CFU boss Jack Warner, at the first of the clinics in Guyana over the weekend.
Digicel, the largest sponsors of football in the Caribbean, launched the Digicel Kick Start Clinics on Saturday in Guyana.
FIFA vice-president and president of CONCACAF and the CFU, Jack Warner, was on hand for the start and he was accompanied by the head coach for the Digicel Kick Start Clinics, former Liverpool and England winger, the Jamaican-born John Barnes.
The football training and development tour will visit eight Caribbean territories for three-day clinics in each country. At the end, Barnes will select six of the most promising young Caribbean footballers to travel to Sunderland for a one-week training exercise.
Other Caribbean islands that the touring clinic will visit are Haiti, Barbados, St Kitts, Antigua, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, and this sweep of the region should be completed over the next six weeks.
In each of the eight countries, the three-day Digicel Kick Start Clinics will see Barnes coaching the national Under-20 teams for the initial two days of his visit.
Following the finale of the Digicel Kick Start Clinics in Jamaica, Barnes and the national coaches who participated in the clinics, will announce the selected six Under-20 footballers who will be offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the UK to take part in one week's training at English Premier League side Sunderland AFC's Academy of Light.
Speaking at the launch of the Digicel Kick Start Football Clinics, the former dazzling England player said "I've been developing these clinics with Digicel for the last few months and I'm delighted that the time has now come to finally get on the road.
"As I've said before, the Caribbean is an untapped market for future footballers in the English Premier League and by choosing six players to come to Sunderland and train for a week at a Premier League Academy, it will give them just the opportunity they need to learn valuable football skills to help them realise their dream," noted Barnes.
Warner praised Digicel for its continued commitment to the sport of football in the region and their response to these clinics specifically. "Digicel has once again shown its commitment to developing football in the Caribbean. After the highly successful Digicel Caribbean Cup last year, the Digicel Kick Start Clinics will ensure the future of the sport in the region as it is designed for the benefit of youths," he said.
Digicel's head of sponsorship, Kieran Foley, said, "Digicel is delighted to be able to extend its development of football in the region to ensure that a fully developed youth programme is now added to our flagship sponsorship of the Digicel Caribbean Cup and our various Digicel international matches."
Digicel Kick Start Clinics Tour Schedule
Guyana January 6 - 9
Haiti January 11 - 14
Barbados January 16 - 19
St Kitts January 21 - 24
Antigua January 26 - 29
Suriname January 31 - February 3
Trinidad & Tobago February 8 - 11
Jamaica February 13 - 16
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Former England and Liverpool winger and current head coach of the Digicel Kick Start Clinics, John Barnes (centre), shares a moment with head of promotions Digicel, Kieran Foley (left), and CFU boss Jack Warner, at the first of the clinics in Guyana over the weekend.Digicel, the largest sponsors of football in the Caribbean, launched the Digicel Kick Start Clinics on Saturday in Guyana.
FIFA vice-president and president of CONCACAF and the CFU, Jack Warner, was on hand for the start and he was accompanied by the head coach for the Digicel Kick Start Clinics, former Liverpool and England winger, the Jamaican-born John Barnes.
The football training and development tour will visit eight Caribbean territories for three-day clinics in each country. At the end, Barnes will select six of the most promising young Caribbean footballers to travel to Sunderland for a one-week training exercise.
Other Caribbean islands that the touring clinic will visit are Haiti, Barbados, St Kitts, Antigua, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, and this sweep of the region should be completed over the next six weeks.
In each of the eight countries, the three-day Digicel Kick Start Clinics will see Barnes coaching the national Under-20 teams for the initial two days of his visit.
Following the finale of the Digicel Kick Start Clinics in Jamaica, Barnes and the national coaches who participated in the clinics, will announce the selected six Under-20 footballers who will be offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the UK to take part in one week's training at English Premier League side Sunderland AFC's Academy of Light.
Speaking at the launch of the Digicel Kick Start Football Clinics, the former dazzling England player said "I've been developing these clinics with Digicel for the last few months and I'm delighted that the time has now come to finally get on the road.
"As I've said before, the Caribbean is an untapped market for future footballers in the English Premier League and by choosing six players to come to Sunderland and train for a week at a Premier League Academy, it will give them just the opportunity they need to learn valuable football skills to help them realise their dream," noted Barnes.
Warner praised Digicel for its continued commitment to the sport of football in the region and their response to these clinics specifically. "Digicel has once again shown its commitment to developing football in the Caribbean. After the highly successful Digicel Caribbean Cup last year, the Digicel Kick Start Clinics will ensure the future of the sport in the region as it is designed for the benefit of youths," he said.
Digicel's head of sponsorship, Kieran Foley, said, "Digicel is delighted to be able to extend its development of football in the region to ensure that a fully developed youth programme is now added to our flagship sponsorship of the Digicel Caribbean Cup and our various Digicel international matches."
Digicel Kick Start Clinics Tour Schedule
Guyana January 6 - 9
Haiti January 11 - 14
Barbados January 16 - 19
St Kitts January 21 - 24
Antigua January 26 - 29
Suriname January 31 - February 3
Trinidad & Tobago February 8 - 11
Jamaica February 13 - 16
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