TheSportsCampus

The FC Bayern Youth Cup kicked off its second leg in India giving young footballing talent from Mumbai the stage to showcase their skills. One of the biggest youth scouting programs in the world today, which will took place at the Western Railway Sports Association, on December 10th and 11th had legendary midfielder Paul Breitner cheering the kids on- All this for an opportunity to play this global tournament at the Allianz Arena just days after the Champions League Final and be trained by the best in the business.

The scouting program in India is an initiative taken by adidas, Audi and FC Bayern München to promote the game of football and give young talent the opportunity to experience the game at an international level. The first leg, which took place in the capital, New Delhi saw over 800 young footballers take part, out of which 15 were chosen for a chance to represent India at the cup.

The program is based on a highly successful format, designed to scout players in the Major League Soccer (MLS) USA, which has helped the US to tremendously strengthen their footballing credentials over the last few years.Unlike typical scouting programs, this one allows participants to choose the position they would like to play in and the preferred time slot as well, giving everyone a fair chance to showcase their abilities and skills on the pitch.

Paul Breitner, FC Bayern brand ambassador and World Champion, 1974 said "Players from all over the world are in Europe nowadays, so why wouldn't we see Indians among their number in the next 5 or 6 years?"

Talking about the programme Tushar Goculdas, Brand Director, adidas India said "The FC Bayern Youth Cup received fantastic response from Delhi and we witnessed some brilliant young talent making the best of this opportunity and giving their all in. We are eager to see what the kids from Mumbai have in store. adidas is deeply passionate and committed towards building India's success as a footballing nation. Over the last few years we have consistently supported grassroots programs that help the development of young footballers. The FC Bayern Youth Cup will further boost our efforts to discover top footballing talent and provide them with a unique international experience."

Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India said: "We, at Audi, believe that football is a perfect fit to our brand values and products. Audi has a strong global commitment to football, it is not only a shareholder in FC Bayern Munich but also a partner to various top flight european clubs. FC Bayern Youth Cup is a global initiative where the children not only get to showcase their skill but also get an opportunity to interact with top-level scouts from FC Bayern Munich and hone their talent. After the huge success of our Delhi event where over 800 children participated, we are looking forward to another great round here in Mumbai. This initiative is only the beginning of our involvement and firm commitment towards building up football in India. We have already reaffirmed this commitment by bringing the first team of FC Bayern to Delhi on Jan. 10 2012 for the farewell match of Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia."