Honda prize of EPL training draws thousands of Thai players

Participants will have a chance to earn berths for training stints at English Premier League Manchester United and Liverpool’s famed academies.
AP Honda initiated the project as one of the activities under its “Honda Big Fan Big Fun” campaign after signing contracts to become the official partner of the two English clubs, who have a large fan base in the Kingdom.
It offers local young talents a unique opportunity to train for a short period at the English sides’ topclass facilities, which have produced a host of worldclass players including England midfielder Steven Gerrard. The competition for berths to Manchester United’s and Liverpool’s academies will be held separately while the two winning sides will earn a chance to watch either club’s matches.
“After launching the project earlier this month, we’ve had a very good response from young Thais, particularly those who are the supporters of each club. The number of applications through our dealers has far exceeded our expectations,” said Suchart Arunsaengroj, the AP Honda general manager for sales.
“Over 3,000 teams will compete in the event. It’s really pleasing that we can get such huge attention from the young generation.
“We really want to see our players train at famous academies from which many of big names have graduated. Who knows, one day we might see a player from this project play in the Premier League.”
Suchart said the contest would place importance on player’s skills to ensure the winning sides were the best of the bunch.
“Players who graduate from the grassroots level to professional ranks need to have a proper foundation of skills, which are developed when they are young.
“That’s why the scores from our skill test will account for as much as 70 per cent of the result. We believe an athlete who has good basic skills can develop faster than others.”
The regional competition will kickoff on October 15 before moving to the national level to find two winning teams for the England trip.