Sports

‘BEAUTIFUL FOOTBALL’ AT THE DIGICEL KICKSTART CLINIC IN SURINAME

Digicel Kickstart Suriname 1

Friday 13th May 2016 – Paramaribo, Suriname: Manchester City FC coaches arrived in Suriname to deliver the Digicel Kickstart Clinic and were greeted with the first showers which marked the start of Suriname’s rainy season. However, this didn’t put a damper on the Clinic as Suriname’s top youth players were ready and waiting to develop their football skills.

Even though the primary language spoken by the players is Dutch, they were still able to take on the strategies and tactics that the coaches shared with them through various practices and game situations. Manchester City FC Football Delivery Manager and Digicel Kickstart Lead Coach, Lewis Childs, said; “We were happy to see that all the boys were ready and waiting for the start of the Clinic. It is clear that they love football – even when it rained heavily during some of the sessions, they never slowed down – they maintained a high tempo throughout the practices and games. We were very impressed with all the talent we saw on the pitch this week.”

Former Digicel Kickstart Academy players also visited the sessions and encouraged the participants to do their best. One of the past players said; “I want to encourage the players to listen to the coaches and give it their best effort. The coaches are here to help them develop their game and so they need to take the opportunity and make the best of it.” Having participated in the Clinic and the Academy, these past players are now proud members of the national team – which is testament to the strength of the Digicel Kickstart programme in giving young players across the Caribbean the foundation to improve their game and achieve their dreams on and off the pitch.

At the end of the two days, the coaches selected three players who will attend the Digicel Kickstart Academy in June, these were: Ferando Hoepel, Jaycee Marsidin, Roscello Vlijter. The boys will join other top players from across the Caribbean and Central America at the week-long Digicel Academy where they will receive another round of intensive training. Here, the boys will have the opportunity to impress the Manchester City coaches further, in the hopes of being among the top three players who will be given the chance of a lifetime to train at the City Football Academy, Manchester City FC’s elite training and youth development facility in Manchester, England.

ENDS

ABOUT DIGICEL

Digicel Group is a leading global communications provider with operations in 33 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After 13 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$5 billion worldwide. 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 presenting partner of the Caribbean Premier League. 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 Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

About Manchester City Football Club

Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club whose roots began in East Manchester in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, four League Championship titles, including two Premier League titles in the last three years (2012, 2014), and five FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of four teams comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Yokohama F-Marinos among its sister clubs.

Under manager Manuel Pellegrini, the Club plays its domestic and Champions’ League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003. Today, the Stadium sits on the wider Etihad Campus, which also encompasses the City Football Academy, a world leading first team training and youth development facility located in the heart of East Manchester. Featuring a 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium, the City Football Academy is also where Manchester City Women’s Football Club and the Elite Development Squad train on a daily basis and play their competitive home games.

For more information, please visit www.mcfc.co.uk

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