At least three players from this year’s Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) competition will star in the national juvenile team, according to Ghana Football Association’s Technical Director, Francis Oti Akenteng.
Tamale based duo, Abubaker Abdul Malik and Rama Nurudeen who emerged best player for the Boys and Girls competition respectively look destined to play in Ghana shirts when the next Under 17 national selection is announced.
Barikisu Shaibu, a goalkeeper for the Upper West Regional Girls’ Airtel Rising Stars team in this year’s competition is also being considered strongly for the National Under 17 Women’s team, the Black Princesses.
“We have seen many potential national team players” said Francis Oti Akenteng after the ARS Zone 4 games played in Tamale over the weekend. The competition solely reserved for Regional Under 15 teams featured the Upper East and Northern Regions.
The honors were split equally. Northern Region’s Team A won the Boys competition while the Upper East snatched the Girls’ gold.
The level of competition left Oti Akenteng with some unforgettable memories for Francis Oti Akenteng.
“We have already been to Takoradi, Konongo, Wa and now Tamale. We have seen some fantastic players here in Tamale. I go home with some wonderful thoughts. The future of Ghana football is very bright and I especially want to thank Airtel for a great tournament. They have taken part of the responsibility of developing our future stars. ” Oti Akenteng said.
The Northern Boys and Upper East Girls have now joined an elite cast of champions headed to Sunyani on 29th and 30th of August for the Airtel Rising Stars national finals.
Others who have qualified for Sunyani are the Western Region’s male and female teams, the Eastern Region’s Boys team, the Ashanti Region’s Girls team, the Upper West’s Boys and Girls teams.
The final two tickets for the national champions will be competed for by Greater Accra Region and the Volta Region in Denu on 22nd and 23rd of August.
Airtel Rising Stars is Ghana’s most credible and authentic football talent hunt at the juvenile level. It is a Corporate social responsibility project of Airtel Ghana in partnership with the Ghana football Association.