Airtel Africa on Monday unveiled a Pan African soccer tourney – Airtel Rising Stars Africa Football Championship – that will provide an opportunity for budding stars to showcase and gauge their raw talent with the best in the continent. The Championship will be part of the Airtel Rising Stars program, a football talent initiative that has focused on identifying and nurturing football talent from the grassroots onto a national stage. The Championships will take place on 20th to the 25th of August in Kenya's capital city, Nairobi. The tournament will comprise of a preliminary qualifying round, a knockout round and a final. A draw will be conducted in Nairobi on the 15th of August to determine the group stage fixtures. The format of the under 17 tourney will give both boys' and girls' teams the chance to assess their team work and individual skills against some of the best nations In Africa. The football extravaganza will attract teams from some of Africa powerhouses in the under 17 age group such as Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, DRC pitted against upcoming nations such as Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Burkina Faso amongst others. The Airtel Africa championships will be officially opened by Kenya's Prime Minister, The Rt.Hon. Raila Odinga and will be graced by Ambassadors representing the other 14 nations that will participate in the extravaganza. It is expected that over 500 rising stars will travel to Nairobi courtesy of Airtel operations across the continent. Speaking about the inaugural Africa Championships, Airtel Africa's Chief Marketing Officer said: "The Airtel Africa Championship is a natural product of the exciting and dazzling skills which we have seen showcased in the on-going Airtel Rising Stars initiative. The tournament provides the perfect melting pot of talent, cultures and passion exhibited during the Airtel Rising across Africa." He added: “By designing a bigger stage for the teams and future stars, Airtel is sending a message to the participants, coaches, soccer enthusiasts on our long term support for sports and activities that empower and celebrate talent." The Final matches will herald the kick-off of two specialized Airtel Rising Soccer Clinics which will be run by soccer coaches from the Manchester United and Arsenal Soccer Schools. The clinics will be held in Nairobi and Accra respectively. The Soccer clinics will provide technical expertise to aspiring stars chosen by top coaches in the 15 African countries. To spice up the clinics, Airtel has announced that the teams that scoop the girls and boys trophies will also attend the soccer clinics. The Final matches will be followed by a pan African Music extravaganza involving four top artists from the continent. Amongst the artist lined up for the concert are Congolese crooner Papa Wemba, Nigerian Artist Tuface, Tanzanian Rapper AY and Kenyan Gospel artist Daddy Owen.
