Chelsea FC Foundation coaches the Cayman Islands’ top three players who will attend the Digicel Academy

Monday, 20th May 2014 – George Town, Grand Cayman: Senior International Development Officer for the Chelsea FC Foundation and Digicel Kick Start Clinics Head Coach, David Monk, praised the high quality of footballing talent he saw at the Kick Start Clinics held at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex last week and hopes to see this trend continued for next year’s programme.

He said; “With our visit being the first of its kind to Cayman, we were excited to see exactly what these Caymanian players had to offer. After day one, we concluded that the attitude and professionalism demonstrated by these young men was admirable, this partnered with a high ability level means that we must adopt high expectations for our next visit.”

The Cayman Islands was the fourth stop on the 14 country tour which will see David and his team of coaches training the Caribbean and Central American region’s best youth players. This being the first year to host Digicel Kick Start, the Cayman Islands were fortunate to take advantage of the new elements that were added to this year’s Clinics including increased training time with the boys as well as, for the first time in the history of the programme, an under-16 girls training session.

The Hon. Minister of Health, Sports, Youth and Culture, Mr. Osbourne V Bodden said, “I would like to applaud Digicel for their continued support with Kick Start now in its seventh year!   Now that they have brought Chelsea FC to Cayman for the first time, this has boosted the profile of the camp and I’m hoping that the three Chelsea coaches will have a major impact on our youngsters, male and female, and also on our local coaches. Chelsea is one of the world’s largest clubs in the world and they have a lot to share. I’mhoping this will become a permanent fixture on our sporting calendar.”

On Thursday, May 15th, supporting parents, coaches, media, key sponsors and government officials gathered on the field of the Truman Bodden Sports complex to witness the selection of the first three players to represent the Cayman Islands at the Digicel Academy later this year. The visiting Chelsea FC coaches proudly announced that Zachary Scott, Tevin Crawford and Kameron D’hue were selected out of thirty of the top players in the country. In addition to the chosen three, Jiffon Robinson was selected as the ‘Wild Card’ and dubbed fastest footballer in the Cayman Islands. A fourth player is selected as a wild card from each of the participating countries. Out of the fourteen wild cards, only three can attend the Digicel Academy by winning a spot based on fan votes. Digicel Cayman promises to promote the initiative heavily when voting opens in July.

With the start of the 2014 programme, David and his team were excited to find a new crop of talented footballers who will go to Barbados for the Digicel Academy in October.

The Digicel team was also proud to have hosted and supported the Digicel Kick Start Clinics for the very first time.

Speaking on the success of programme, Digicel Cayman, Chief Operating Officer, Raul Nicholson-Coe, said;“Digicel’s involvement in the Kick Start Clinics is a direct result of the company’s philosophical belief in ensuring that we are good corporate citizens in any country in which we operate. The Digicel Kick Start Clinics provide the ideal vehicle to ensure that the kids with the athletic abilities are provided with a platform to showcase their skills and to be given opportunities to develop not only their athletic abilities, but toalso be given the necessary life skills related to commitment and professionalism that will allow them to be successful in whatever career path that they chose. Digicel will continue with the Kick Start programme as part of its social development strategies to improve and enhance the lives of the people of the Cayman Islands. Digicel believes in creating theright social platform through these types of programme to facility both economic and social development. ”

The team is currently in Trinidad and Tobago where it will host the country’s top 30 boys and under-16 girls for the Clinics.

Kick Start Clinics Schedule

Jamaica: Completed

Trinidad and Tobago: Completed

Bermuda: Completed

Cayman Islands: Completed

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Monday 19th May – Wednesday 21st May

Haiti: Saturday 24th May – Monday 26th May

Suriname: Wednesday 28th May – Friday 30th May

Panama: Monday 2nd June – Wednesday 4th June

Antigua and Barbuda: Friday 6th June – Sunday 8th June

St. Lucia: Tuesday 10th – Thursday 12th June

St. Kitts and Nevis: Monday 16th June – Wednesday 18th June

Dominica: Friday 20th June – Sunday 22nd June

Grenada: Friday 20th June – Sunday 22nd June

Barbados: October 2014

The Digicel Kick Start Clinics – now in their eighth year – will again see thousands of aspiring young footballers from across 14 countries in the Caribbean and Central America try out for their chance to travel to the Digicel Academy in Barbados and train under top coaches from Barclays Premier League side, Chelsea FC.

During the week-long Digicel Academy, the top 42 boys from across the region get the chance of a lifetime to receive intensive training under coaches from Barclays Premier League side, Chelsea Football Club.

For more information please visit www.digicelfootball.com

ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP

Digicel Group Limited is a leading global communications provider with operations in 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After 13 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$4.5 billion worldwide. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams and individuals including the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt and Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel also sponsors the West Indies cricket team.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, theCayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Myanmar, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barts in the Caribbean.

Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information.