136 teams in Airtel Rising Star regional finals

The K78 million Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) Under-17 tournament battle has reached regional level with 136 teams left.

For the past three months the tournament was played at zonal and district level.

Malawi Schools Sports Association (Massa), organisers of the tournament, have announced that the tournament will break and resume in August at regional level.

“We have 136 teams that have made it into regional finals—68 in boys’ category and 68 in the girls division. The competition is becoming fierce as teams are fighting for the final slot,” said Massa general secretary Blackson Malamula.

He appealed to Super League clubs to scout for talent during the matches.

“There is abundant talent going unnoticed. We believe the competition can be a good feeder to the Super League if coaches patronise the games,” he said.

He also commended teams for refraining from hooliganism.

“It has been a violent-free competition. So far, no incident of fighting has been reported. We hope the teams will continue to conduct themselves in such a way. It is important that we protect the brand of our sponsors Airtel Malawi. No company wants to be associated with violence,” said Malamula.

Defending champions in the girl’s category New Vision Private School say despite competition being tough, they will still defend the title.

“We are geared to winning the divisional level,” said the school’s patron James Chavula.