Concluding al-Khobar challenges for Pepsi street skills 2008” with more than 200 Saudi participants
After the conclusion of the challenge in Kuwait last week, the excitement moved to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where second phase of the “Pepsi Street Skills 2008” has been launched starting in the city of Al-Khobar with the participation of more than 200 players. The competition took place in Fuad center parking lot on Sunday June 8, 2008 with the attendance of the famous former Saudi football player, Abdullah Saleh where the event witnessed exciting competitions and challenges between participants showing their skills and their talents. The competition will tour around the rest of the Kingdom’s cities – Jeddah on June 11th, Riyadh on the 14th of June and Abha on the 18th of June where the jury, who were selected from elite football trainers in the Kingdom, will choose the winners from the talented football players.
Mr. Ibrahim Binaquil, GCC Senior Brand Manager – Colas at PepsiCo International, stated “Al-Khobar’s competitions included participations from highly talented football players and we are proud with the unexpected success witnessed by the Pepsi Street Skills 2008.” Mr. Binaquil announced the winners’ names which are eligible for the next phase – the consumer voting stage of national competition on a Kingdom level and they are: Ahmad Hassan Al Shehri, Ayman Mohammad Masrahi, Fahad Mohammad Al Mobaraki, Omar Mohammad & Mohammad Saleh Maimoony.
Each participant was able to demonstrate his skills and take part of the challenge where the jury documented the skills and the abilities of each player through videos made by the committee, making sure that the player has the capabilities necessary to qualify for the next phase, where by consumers will be voting for the best skilled players in an attempt to point out the final winners who will travel on a dream trip to London and Barcelona to meet the famous Pepsi players Fabregas, Henry and Messi!
Because of the huge number of young hopefuls who want to take part in the competition, Pepsi provided convenient alternative methods of applying for registration through phone, Pepsi’s website www.pepsiarabia.com and the organizing company’s website www.axemevents.com.
Binaquil added “We are used to seeing the great skills of the Gulf youth and the Saudi youth in specific, as we saw today a number of football talents at the Fouad center parking lot arena, and the next meeting will be in Jeddah and I can sense the anticipation and eagerness in the city to accept the Pepsi Stars.”
Pepsi had commenced registration for its Pepsi Street Skills Challenge 2008 event, which will be present this year in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman. This unique journey in search of young football talents is for teens between the ages of 14 – 19 years. The winners will have a once in a life time opportunity to meet the Pepsi stars Fabregas, Messi and Henry in London and Barcelona.
Pepsi Street Football Skills 2008 follows high standards for testing and selecting winners, where the judging committee utilizes the latest technology which proved its efficiency, such as video clips where is creates better communication between the jury and the players. The “points” method will also been followed in evaluating the football players while playing competitive games which will take place on 30 x 40 meters playgrounds. The competition’s organizers will provide all players free drinks and refreshments.
Pepsi aims to commit to support and prepare the next generation of national football stars, and providing them with the highest levels of training with all the necessary experiences which can be implemented in their future career in professional football enabling them to compete at an international level.
