The national finals of the Airtel Rising Stars colts football competition is currently on-going at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra, scheduled to finish on Friday, July 6, 2012. Four male and four female are playing in the male and female competitions, and the prize is the opportunity to represent Ghana at the male and female inter-country tournament scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya next month. Corporate Relations Manager of Airtel Ghana Kwame Gyan told Adom News the winning male team would represent Ghana in the male competition, while the winning female team would represent the country in the female competition. He said the four male competing teams comprised of the two zonal winners, Brong-Ahafo (northern zone winner) and Volta Regions (southern zone winner), and two select sides from both zones, Kwame Gyan there were no female zonal competitions so the four female teams were selected from the two zones through a special Ghana Football Association criteria. “If the sort of competition we saw in the zones is anything to go by, then we can say for certain that the finals will be keenly contested”, Kwame Gyan said. He added that the chance to take part in the inter-country tournament and the exposure the footballers are gaining as a result of the Airtel Rising Stars competitions is serving as an added incentive for them to give off their best. Kwame Gyan said “officials of the National Juvenile Committee of the GFA, seasoned coaches, scouts and those who matter in football are deeply involved with the competition and we believe that the Airtel Rising Stars will serve a s a major step to stardom for some of the lads and girls taking part in it.” Airtel announced recently that it has signed a three-year partnership agreement with English premier league giants Arsenal Football Club. The youngsters therefore stand the chance to benefit from this partnership with the Gunners providing UEFA–trained coaches to assist with training at an Arsenal coaching clinic for up to 50 footballers in each of the five markets - Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and Rwanda. “This partnership provides an impetus to the Airtel Rising Stars program in Ghana,” Gyan said. Airtel Rising Stars is an annual, multi-country grassroots soccer initiative that offers young boys and girls the opportunity to play, compete and showcase their talent to selectors in their respective countries. Airtel Ghana’s programme is being supported by Samsung, Multimedia Group Company and Happy FM with Sammy Kufuor and Nii Odartey Lamptey, both former Black Stars players serving as Airtel Rising Stars ambassadors.