Street kids’

THE Bahrain Football Association (BFA) in co-operation with a soft drink’s company has launched the kingdom’s first-ever ‘Pepsi Street Soccer Challenge’.

The tournament aims to give four Bahraini youngsters a chance to take part in a month-long Euro-Camp to be conducted by English soccer giants Chelsea next month.
The challenge is open to all Bahrainis aged 10 to 14. Teams must consist of five players each with one substitute.
The tournament is set to begin with the first leg of the qualifying round today at the BFA grounds in Riffa. It will be followed by another four legs before July 28, to be played at selected sites in Manama, Muharraq, the Northern Governorate and the Southern/Central Governorates.
Matches will last 10 minutes each, and will be played in a field measuring 20 x 30 metres in size. Eight games will be played simultaneously at all times.
The top 60 players from the qualifiers will be identified and invited to play in a final playoff on July 30 at the BFA grounds.
The players are to be judged by BFA coaches using a special scoring system. The best four youngsters in the final will then be hand-picked using the same system, and be included in the ‘Pepsi Stars Squad’ that will travel to London for the Chelsea camp.
The 22-member team will comprise of players from all over the Gulf, 10 from Saudi Arabia, five from Oman, and one each from Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait apart from the four from Bahrain.
“Soccer is a sport that is a national favourite, one that is dear to the hearts of Bahrainis,” said GCC business unit general manager at PepsiCo International Ken Newell. “Pepsi is committed to contributing to the next generation of national soccer stars, and providing them with the world-class training required to develop their inherent talent into a real-life profession.”
All participants will be given a complete uniform from Pepsi, plus a certificate. Interested youngsters can register online on pepsiarabia.com or on axemevents.com, or by submitting an enrolment form to the local event-management office mentioned in the form.  A toll free number (8000-8009) has also been set up for any inquiries.