Chelsea's Asian Star Scouting Programme a success

English Premier League side Chelsea FC once more organised its Asian Star scouting programme at its Cobham training complex with more then 300 children taking part over the weekend, hoping to win a year-long place within the Chelsea FC Foundation's Elite Training Centre.

This year young players aged from Under-9s, U-10s, U-11s and U-12s with British Asian backgrounds had the opportunity to compete against each other under close scrutiny from Chelsea Foundation coaches. This year's winners will now return to the club's training ground later in the summer for a week-long trial.

The winners in the different categories are

Under 9 - Rajan Singh Sahni
Under 10 - Keshveer Singh Lakanpal
Under 11 - Ibrahim Rahman
Under 12 - Saidul Islam Khan


The Asian Soccer Star 2012 winners in the four age groups were decided on their performance, test results and the Foundation coaches' analysis.

Parents watched on under sweltering conditions as their children were put through drills and tests for speed and agility before taking part in five or six-a-side games of football. The teams all played each other once in a tournament before a final took place between the two top sides. The winners of that meeting were awarded medals and Asian Soccer Star 2012 trophies. The sides were guided by professional coaches.

The initiative attracted the attentions of local media and Punjab singer Jaz Dhami, a coach himself said, "This year I've seen a massive progression and I'm excited to be here. There are not any other clubs which put these events on and it gives the youngsters a great platform from which to build."

"I would like to see more of it, I've been involved over the past three years and I'm surprised other clubs where there is a big Asian population haven't followed suit."

Kashif Siddiqi is a professional footballer who, as well as being a Pakistani international, plays right-back for Ventura County Fusion in California. He came down to Cobham to lend a hand giving out prizes and couldn't speak highly enough of the event.

"It's a great initiative and I'm hoping a number of other clubs can now blueprint this model. What Chelsea are doing is not just great for young Asian footballers but the community as a whole," he said.

"I've seen different kids from the various age groups shine and it's a brilliant idea. If I had something like this when I was growing up it would have eradicated a lot of the barriers I faced, so I'm very appreciative of what the club are doing."

Each winner was given a Chelsea shirt with Asian Star printed on the back and the number depicting their age group before being whisked away for interviews. It marked the end of Asian Star 2012 and head of the Chelsea Foundation, Simon Taylor, said, "It's been an absolutely fantastic day, the weather's been lovely, there's been a great atmosphere and we've seen some very talented footballers on show."

"The kids have loved it and so have the adults. This year we've engaged with the parents a lot more, there have been a few presentations which have been extremely well received so hopefully everybody involved has had a great day."