Right to Dream Hosts the Nike Premier Cup National Finals

March 2011

The RIGHT to Dream Academy in partnership with Vodafone Ghana are once again prepapring to host the National Finals of the NIKE sponsored Premier Cup Ghana Country Finals this weekend, bringing together four of the brightest young under-15 football teams in the country .

The tournament will take place at Right to Dream’s purpose built facility at Old Akrade, near Akosombo this Saturday April 2nd. The host team will be locked in battle with Shadow Academy & Okwenya Young Stars, both from the Eastern Region, who participate for the first time this year and Strong Tower FC from Accra, who will be determined to improve on their third place final position last year.

 This weekend’s tournament is only the first round in a gruelling competition to represent Africa at the Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals in Manchester this August. The Premier Cup Champions of Ghana will win a spot at NIKE Campus in May, where they get the chance to face some of the best young African teams in the world – at the Africa Qualification Tournament. The Africa Champions will then have earned their place at the Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals in August and the opportunity to showcase their skills at the best facilities in the world – against the best of their peers !

Right to Dream’s Academy Manager Andy Farrant said: “We always look forward to hosting this event, MUPC has become a big tradition for the Academy and the highlight of our footballing calendar. Every match presents it’s own challenges of course, and this tournament will be no different. It is always helpful to measure ourselves against local teams and we feel strongly that increased local competition can only raise the standard of youth football across Ghana.

“Premier Cup has become a real passion for our boys,” he continued, “As hosts we’ll be doing our best to ensure that all participants are able to play at their best, enjoy the experience and leave with positive memories.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Previous Premier Cup Ghana Champions – Right to Dream Academy (3x)

 Previous Premier Cup/MUPC Champions:

FC Porto, Real Madrid, RCD Español, Platense, Athletic Bilbão, FC Barcelona (3), Sport Club Internaçional, Vitoria, Sao Paulo, Corinthians, Manchester City, Fluminense (2), Chivas.

Premier Cup was developed by NIKE in 1993 as a grassroots tournament offering young players from diverse cultural and social backgrounds the opportunity to play at international level against the best teams in Europe. This regional tournament originally involving 624 clubs, evolved to become a world-wide festival of football, with around 9,500 under-15 teams from more than 40 countries competing each year.

Just ten years later Manchester United joined Nike in their quest to promote excellence in football across the globe – gave their name to the ultimate youth competition - and the Manchester United Premier Cup World Finals were born! (MUPC)

The local, national and regional tournaments which have been taking place over the past twelve months are now reaching their conclusion and young boys around the world are closing in on their dream - the opportunity to represent their club and their country for the biggest title in youth football and the opportunity to walk through the tunnel at United’s “Theatre of Dreams” at Old Trafford in Manchester for the grand finale of the MUPC World Finals.

National Tournaments in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, UK & the USA will each send a team to the World Finals in Manchester; as will Regional Qualifiers in Africa, Asia and Pacific. Two places are allocated to the Europe & Middle East Finals and the final spot goes to host team, Manchester United.
Last year the Right to Dream Academy signed a three-year partnership agreement with Vodafone Ghana, enabling RtD to continue to deliver world class coaching and a specialised programme of personal development, education and leadership skills to some of the brightest but underprivileged young football prospects in Ghana.

To date, six RtD graduates have signed professional contracts for professional clubs and a further 23 continue their studies whilst furthering their football ambitions on full scholarships at leading universities, private boarding schools and colleges in the US and the UK. Other RtD graduates follow our vocational programme and train within the football industry to become experts in this industry.