NIKE ‘THE CHANCE’ – CAPE TOWN
Nike Continues Local Search of ‘The Chance’ for Talented Footballers
Nike visits Cape Town to search for undiscovered football talent to join the Nike Academy and play for a pro contract in the UK
Following the launch of The Chance with Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal FC, in Soweto in June, Nike will activate its second trial event on Sunday, 22 August at the Tableview Football Club, Cape Town.
Following the first round of successful trials in Johannesburg last week, Nike will host trials for 150 aspiring Cape Town footballers providing them with the opportunity to shine. Clubs and academies in Cape Town were invited to select their best young players to represent the region. Just five places are up for grabs and the footballers who display the most skill and football prowess on the day will be given the opportunity to progress to the final Elite Training programme and trials in September.
Ahead of ‘The Chance’ trials taking place on Sunday, Nike will also host an Elite Training Programme on Saturday at Royal Road, Maitland as well as a coach-to-coach skills programme. This falls in line with Nike’s sustained commitment to youth development by educating coaches in order to ensure continued development in the future.
Football legends Shaun Bartlett and Eric Tinkler, who are both involved in the coaching of Nike’s Elite Training proramme, will facilitate the scouting, along with support from renowned local coaches and former professional players. Bartlett started his professional career in Cape Town in a successful spell with Cape Town Spurs before leaving South Africa to pursue his career abroad where he featured prominently for clubs in the United States, Switzerland and England.
“Although this is an international competition, The Chance is also helping us identify talent we should consider to fast track in our development structures”, said Shaun Bartlett. “Programmes such as these being rolled out by Nike and our core team, demonstrates our commitment to unearthing talent to further boost football development in South Africa.”
Just under 300 footballers from Soweto and greater Johannesburg have already been presented with an opportunity to get scouted as they underwent trials in Johannesburg on Saturday 14 August at the Nike Football Training Centre and 11 footballers were short listed for the final Nike Elite Training Programme that will be held in September.
During the final Elite Training Programme and The Chance trials, only four footballers will be selected as part of the 100 players from around world for a final trial in England, where they will compete for one of eight international places in the Nike Academy. These eight will have all their expenses paid to live in the UK for a year starting in July 2011 and be a full time member of the Nike Academy.
The Nike Academy is a high performance training programme supported by the Premier League in England. Since the Academy’s start in 2009, eight players in the UK have received professional contracts.
As members of the Nike Academy, players become full-time participants at a residential training centre in England with access to elite coaches, nutritionists, psychologists and fitness conditioners, along with world class facilities to perform at the highest level.
PEP GUARDIOLA TRAINS IN SOWETO
Guardiola Meets with Footballers of Soweto and Helps to Raise HIV/AIDS Awareness
FC Barcelona coach and former international player, Pep Guardiola joined NIKE Inc., the world’s largest football company, in a visit to the Football Training Center located in the heart of Soweto, South Africa to help inspire young footballers to fulfill their potential.
While at the Football Training Center, Guardiola joined young players at a training and Life Skills session providing encouragement and advice to improve their game and raise HIV / AIDS awareness.
The recently completed center will offer 20,000 young footballers per year the opportunity to develop their talent while also having access to HIV/AIDS education through football life skills programming.
“The Football Training Center is a terrific facility that provides young footballers of Soweto with an opportunity to realize their potential and also learn important life skills including HIV / AIDS prevention,” said Pep Guardiola. “Young players need access to quality facilities and coaching, clearly, the Football Center gives opportunity and hope to young players to achieve their goals in football and in life.”
The center is part of Nike’s commitment to the communities of South Africa, which dates back 15 years. It also follows Nike’s recent partnership with (RED)™ to leverage the power of sport to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa through the Lace Up, Save Lives campaign. When someone buys a pair of (NIKE)RED laces, Nike contributes 100% of its profits to support programs that offer HIV / AIDS education and medication in Africa.
As part of his visit, Guardiola sent text messages of support to players and a motivational message to young footballers in South Africa via Nike’s ambitious Life Center LED installation. The Life Center is one of Johannesburg’s most iconic skyscrapers and the site of Nike’s ambitious installation. Reaching 30 stories or 138 meters into the sky, the building features an interactive LED screen almost half the size of a football pitch. Tying back to the Write the Future campaign, the Nike installation allows fans to submit personal messages to athletes—via Facebook.com/nikefootball.com, Twitter, Facebook, Mxit (South Africa) and QQ (China). Each night messages are selected and transformed into digital player animations that are projected on the screen for the entire city to see.