Fortune Favours Talent Search

Airtel Africa, one of Manchester United’s regional mobile partners, has returned with a second season of its successful youth football initiative, Airtel Rising Stars (ARS).

The programme is the largest in Africa and aims to find some of the continent’s newest footballing talent by identifying it at a grassroots level and nurturing it all the way to the national stage.

Ex-Red Quinton Fortune travelled to Africa to attend the official launches of ARS 2012 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville and Tanzania.

The South African, who helped launch the programme last year, was in Africa as a United ambassador promoting youth football. As part of the visit, he met Football Association representatives from each country, all of whom are supporting the programme.

The competition is open to anyone under the age of 17 and Airtel will be working with local federations and sporting bodies to find Africa’s most promising sporting talent.

The regional and national tournaments will put forward the most talented players to attend a coaching clinic run by Manchester United Soccer Schools.

And for the first time there will be an inter-country tournament in Nairobi, Kenya, in which the top girls’ and boys’ teams from each participating country compete over four days for the title of Airtel Rising Stars African Champion.