Digicel proudly received the prestigious Caribbean Advertising Federation (CAF) Gold ADDY award for its 14 minute mini-documentary about the Digicel Kick Start Academy.

The annual Digicel Kick Start training programme sees over 800 aspiring young footballers from across the Caribbean and Central America put through their paces by England and Liverpool football legend, John Barnes. From the initial 800, 40 of the best footballers are chosen to train at the Digicel Academy under football coaches from the esteemed Sunderland Academy from the English Premier League.

Spearheaded by Digicel – and produced in conjunction with OGM Communications and Advance Dynamics Ltd. – the mini-documentary follows the journey through the week – long Academy and is set to an inspirational music score. The mini-documentary topped the “TV Self-Promotion” category of the respected annual advertising awards.

Digicel Group Head of Sponsorship, Karl Donnelly, said; “We are thrilled to have won this prestigious award for our Kick Start Academy documentary. The Digicel Academy is a once in a lifetime experience for these aspiring young footballers – and this video tells the story of the passion and determination required – and displayed – by them to get there.

“For us at Digicel, it underlines our commitment to the development of football at a grass roots level – but also demonstrates the importance and influence of the sport in bringing young people together and teaching them invaluable life skills,’ concluded Donnelly.

Director of Photography at Advance Dynamics Ltd., Kerry Gibbons, said; “It is always fulfilling to work on a project we strongly believe in and enjoy. But to be recognised and rewarded for it by the industry is truly an added blessing. The production team was excited from the onset to work on the Digicel Kick Start Football Academy and poured ourselves into the project. We were determined to deliver a product that all parties involved could be proud of – as well as one that is appreciated by the Caribbean people as a whole.

“On behalf of the production team, we express our heartfelt gratitude to OGM Communications T&T and Digicel Group for trusting us with this fantastic opportunity,” concluded Gibbons.

CAF President Christopher Guinness praised the high quality of entries his adjudication panel received for 2011 saying he fully expected several of the regional winners to gain entry into the 4thDistrict American Advertising Federation Competition scheduled for Saturday 14th April 2012.

The full video can be viewed at http://www.digicelfootball.com/en/clinics