Budding Lankan soccer stars headed to German giants’ galaxy
Sanka Jayamina Vidanarachchi and Ganeswaran Anthony Raj will be the two youngsters who will represent Sri Lanka at the prestigious Allianz Junior Football Camp, which will take place at the world famous FC Bayern Munchen facility in Germany.
Sanka of Kingswood College Kandy and Anthony of St. Henry’s College Jaffna will join 100 young footballers from 30 other countries in experiencing a unique six-day workshop beginning on August 20. The workshop aims to connect football fans from around the world in order to teach them how to respect different cultures, develop social and leadership skills and build personality and teamwork.
The programme, named Allianz Football for Life, will give the youngsters the rare opportunity to improve their footballing techniques and skills besides allowing them to sample the world of professional football at FC Bayern Munchen.
This year’s workshop will be of greater importance after Germany won the coveted 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil. This will add more glamour and significance to the participants who will long to experience a memorable six days of football. They will be trained and observed by some of the best in the global game.
This year’s hunt for the two spots from Sri Lanka was a rigorous process as it was done throughout the island with applications being called in through the mainstream media. Additionally, the staff of Allianz Finance, through its 50 branches islandwide, also provided great support as 50 shortlisted young candidates were called in for interviews for final selection.
The two winners – Sanka and Anthony – were selected after greatly considering more than one feature. The two youngsters’ expenses will be taken care of by Allianz Lanka throughout the tour. The workshop, ‘Allianz Junior Football Camp’ was inaugurated in 2009 with 34 youngsters from nine countries taking part. Last year, the fifth annual workshop attracted 75 youngsters from 25 countries including Sri Lanka. This will be the second year that Sri Lanka is represented at this workshop. – NA