Ray Parlour in a picture pose with participants of the maiden Airtel Soccer Clinic in Accra

By Ameenu Shardow

Telecommunication giants Airtel flew in Arsenal legend Ray Parlour from England to interact with participants of their maiden Soccer Clinic in Ghana.

The week-long event at the Lizzy Sports Complex forms part of Airtel’s Rising Stars program aimed at unearthing young soccer talents in Africa.

The U-17 youngsters both from the male and female division were taken through basic football rudiments to enhance their skills and technique right at the juvenile level under coaches from Arsenal Football Club.

The Soccer Clinic also provided an opportunity for the youngsters to interact and learn from football legends through Airtel’s partnership with European giants such as Manchester United and Arsenal.

One of such legends; Ray Parlour expressed his profound joy to be working with the youngsters on his first ever visit to Africa.

“I am extremely happy to be here and I want to thank Airtel for providing such a wonderful opportunity to these young ones,” he said.

“There are a lot of wonderful talents in Africa and I was privileged to play with some of them, the likes of Kanu, the likes of Laurent.

“And I am sure there are a lot more here in Africa and I am happy to be part of the process to unearth these talents.”

The three year partnership between Airtel and Arsenal will see the English giants provide technical support to the Rising Stars’ program and the Soccer Clinic.