Officials at the launch of the project
Africa’s leading pay-TV service operator StarTimes, in collaboration with the German Bundesliga, has rolled out a project targeted at developing young football talents and coaches in Ghana.
Dubbed ‘Bundesliga Football School’, the event is a partnership project between Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) and StarTimes, the official broadcaster of the German Bundesliga in all sub-Saharan Africa.
The Bundesliga Experience is a unique event which would give football fans in Ghana a taste of ‘football as it’s meant to be’.
The event allows local fans to experience a physical connection to Germany’s top-tier league through a number of fun and inclusive activities.
The Bundesliga Football School, which has been slated for December 14-18, 2019, is a new partnership model targeted at developing and promoting young talents worldwide. The approach is to join with national soccer associations, soccer leagues and professional clubs to encourage talented young soccer players at the local level.
Over the course of one week, soccer players (boys and girls) between the ages of 13 and 17 would receive targeted assistance in a series of compact training sessions and workshops, enabling them to showcase their talents.
The sessions would be run by experts and licensed coaches from the youth training centres of Bundesliga clubs with assistance from selected Ghanaian coaches.
Former German international Renate Lingor— together with other UEFA license A coaches such as Tobias Süveges of SV Werder Bremen, Arne Stratmann of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Bjoern Nass of Bayer 04 Leverkusen and head coach of the Bundesliga Football school, Birger J. Nass— would lead the course.
Ghanaian coaches would also benefit from the project which seeks to expose them to new methods of developing young talents and build a new working corporation as they work together with the German coaches.
Former German captain and a 1990 FIFA World Cup winner, Lothar Herbert Matthäus, would also be in Accra during the period in a tour campaign to encourage the young talents and share his footballing experience.
The German Bundesliga is a role model for youth development, with future talent emerging in the league every season.
In 2002, it became mandatory for all Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs to have youth academies and since then, €1.6 billion has been invested by clubs in youth development.
The Bundesliga is, therefore, the perfect partner for this football school.
To participate in the Bundesliga Football School, Ghanaian football talents (boys and girls) between the ages of 13 to 17 who can confidently exhibit their skills should download the StarTimes ON APP from Google Play Store and follow the process on the homepage to register from now until December 1, 2019.
In a press launch held at Tang Palace Hotel today, Head of Marketing at StarTimes Ghana, Mrs. Akofa Banson, revealed the need to invest in the development of Ghana football.
“StarTimes, the brand that introduced affordable pay-TV to Ghanaians three years ago is seeking to give back to Ghanaians with this football school project through our partnership with Bundesliga. We will continue to improve our brand, offer more value to our customers and contribute our quota to the growth of Ghana football,” she added.
StarTimes is serving nearly two million users with a signal covering the whole continent and a massive distribution network of 170 brand halls, 12,500 convenience stores and 11,500 distributors in more than 30 countries.
From The Sports Desk