Winner of the ‘Super Soccer Star’ contest — India’s first football reality show, will get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train at Chelsea’s academy in Cobham, U.K.
Sports broadcaster ESPN STAR Sports will telecast the reality show, which aims to discover the country’s young talents in association with the club and will be broadcast around June or July — when the 2010 FIFA Football World cup takes place.
The broadcaster has tied-up with Media Star Global to produce and air the show, for which 20 contestants aged between 13-16 years old will be chosen after trials and live events across the country, an ESPN STAR Sports release said on Monday.
The contestants will enter an academy where over a period of weeks four finalists will be shortlisted.
The finalists then go to London, where they would be evaluated by Chelsea and the winner gets a training programme at the English club’s academy in Cobham, the release said.
“We believe that ‘Super Soccer Star’ will further extend our comprehensive football offering to viewers and help uncover the budding football talent in India. It will certainly provide an ideal opportunity for young enthusiasts of the sport to showcase their skills on a world famous platform,” said R.C. Venkateish, Managing Director of ESPN Software India.
“We are very proud to work with ESPN STAR Sports and Media Star Global to discover young talent in Indian market,” said Stephen Green, CEO of Galleon Holdings, which owns the Super Soccer Star property.
