Apollo Tyres and Manchester United celebrated the biggest ever season of United We Play (UWP) at the football club’s home ground at Old Trafford, playing host to six exceptional young footballers from India, Nepal, Thailand and UAE.
PC Lalchhuanawma (from Mizoram, India), Shreejal Kisku (from Bhubaneswar, India), Mohd Ayan (from Lucknow, India), Bhakta Bahadur Pariyar (from Nepal), Chanason Chaiyatham (from Bangkok. Thailand) and Shayaan Nabil (from UAE) had emerged as the winners in the fourth edition of United We Play, a grassroots football initiative by leading tyre maker Apollo Tyres, in association with Manchester United.
Chosen from 15,000 other budding footballers across multiple cities in Asia Pacific and the MENA region, the six young footballers converged at Old Trafford for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to train alongside Manchester United Soccer School coaches, meet footballing legends including former Man Utd player and Irish coach John O’Shea, and participate in an exciting match day experience.
The UWP programme is a grassroots football initiative to encourage young football talent from countries underrepresented in global football’s top leagues. Despite a combined population of nearly 1.6 billion people and a deeply engrained, cultural passion for football, there are no Indian or Thai players in the Premier League. The programme is determined to challenge this paradox by empowering young footballers from untapped communities to showcase their performance at the highest level.
Speaking at the event, Manchester United’s Head of Academy, Nick Cox said, “United We Play is a wonderful initiative, more than anything it gives young kids an opportunity of a lifetime. They will enjoy an amazing Manchester United experience, from training at Old Trafford to seeing behind scenes with the Academy of Carrington and watching the first team play under the lights. The programme has been evolving every year and continues to inspire those involved.”
