Appiah to mentor Nestle Milo U-13 champs

Former Black Stars captain, Stephen Appiah, has been tasked to mentor the winners of the Ghana edition of the 2014 Nestle Milo U-13 Africa Football Championships.

Appiah in his new role as brand ambassador of the competition has been tasked by organisers to sharpen the footballing skills of the eventual winners as well as teaching them discipline in all aspects of their lives when they group at the Ghananman Soccer Centre of Excellence at Prampram before the team travels to Kenya to represent Ghana in the African Championships.

Speaking at the draw in Accra last Friday for the tournament to decide Ghana’s representative for this year’s African championships, Appiah said he was very excited about this tournament and the opportunities it provided for young footballers.

“I never played in a Milo competition but my talented colleagues like Laryea Kingston and Sulley Muntari did; all Ghanaians have the responsibility to make sure budding talents don’t go waste and in this role, I hope to do just that,” said the football icon.

 The draw saw a team each from the 10 regions of Ghana being placed into two groups of five teams.

Central,  Eastern, Greater Accra, Upper West and Northern regions were drawn in Group A, while Volta, Brong Ahafo, Western,  Ashanti and Upper East regions were drawn in Group B for the tournament that is scheduled for February 19-21 at the Paa Joe Stadium in Kumasi.

The winners will represent Ghana at the third edition of the largest U-13 soccer tournament in Nairobi, Kenya, from May 28 to June 1, alongside teams from Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

Addressing the gathering, the Managing Director of Nestle Ghana, Moataz El Hoyt, disclosed that the winners of the Ghana tournament will receive scholarships as part of their prize, as well as coaching from Stephen Appiah ahead of their participation in the Kenya championships.    

He said, “Milo brings sports to the doorstep of children in school, and this tournament aims to bring out the talent in the youngsters while teaching them life-skills and improving their academic education”.

Also in attendance at the ceremony was Ghana football Association (GHAN) President, Kwesi Nyantakyi who stressed the need to combine football with academics in order to secure Ghana’s sporting future.

“I have discovered that educated footballers make better players than those with no education. I, therefore, congratulate Nestle for their laudable initiative and salute their rich tradition of supporting youth sports.