There was excitement as the 7th season of the Airtel Rising Stars was officially launched at Lugogo in Kampala.
The 2018 Airtel Rising Stars U-17 edition was launched on Wednesday, 7th June 2018.
Airtel Uganda Limited was ably represented during the launch.
Managing Director, VG Somasekhar led the delegation, flanked by the marketing director Indrajeet Kumar Singh, Noela Byuma (Brand Strategy Manager) and the Public Relations Officer (PRO) Faith Fiona Bugonzi.
The FUFA team had the 2nd Vice President Darius Mugoye, Executive Committee member Rogers Byamukama, FUFA Youth Development officer Bashir Mutyaba and the marketing director Esther Musoke.
Mugoye who represented the FUFA President Moses Magogo appreciated Airtel Uganda in a special way for supporting grass root football development through the ARS programme;
We are excited that the 7th edition of the Airtel Rising Stars U-17 programme is here. For the previous editions, there has been value added to the game of football. Since 2011, a number of stars have graduated to the Uganda Cranes, U-20 and the U-23. We are excited about the partnership with Airtel Uganda. No wonder, that during this partnership, we managed to have the Uganda Cranes promoted to the African Cup of Nations. As a federation, we believe in building from the grass roots. Thank you Airtel Uganda and the media who have worked hard to promote this programme.
The managing Director of Airtel Uganda, VG Somasekhar gave a detailed account about the activities of the company in line with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) cause where sports is part.
He hinted on education and cultural development as the others;
We are transforming the telecom industry in Uganda. It gives me great joy in kicking off this season 7 of the Airtel Rising Stars. Our Vision is to the best loved brands in the daily lives of Uganda. With the best communication and we want to bring out the next stars. There are 56 tribes in Uganda, Football is the 57thtribe that unites many tribes. Like our brand ambassador Eddie Kenzo, football first identified him. Football got him to school and Football got him to music. We encourage many young kids to take on football. This game is not only limited to Kampala. It is to be played across the 8 regions of FUFA. We support football (through the Uganda Cranes sponsorship, Airtel Rising Stars and Airtel Masaza Cup), Kabaka Birthday run, education and culture. Airtel Uganda’s relationship with sports is well documented. Since 2011, we are growing strong and bigger
Meanwhile, the official kits that will be used for the 7th Airtel Rising Stars tournament were also unveiled.
Thereafter, there was an exhibition girls football game was played between the Katuuso community girls.
The inter-district championships will kick off mid June with the regional qualifiers continuing throughout the month to July 2018.
The national finals with all the eight FUFA regions will take place in Fort Portal come August 2018 in Fort Portal at the Buhinga Stadium.