Football: Airtel Rising Stars - Azemia, Mellon back from overseas clinic |07 May 2014

Chris Azemia and Michel Mellon have described their experience at the Airtel Rising Stars Africa in Tanzania as “great”.

The two young footballers returned late last week after taking part in the clinic in Tanzania and they said they have learned a lot of new things and meet new coaches.
Azemia added: “We had to adapt ourselves to the climate there as we were training on high altitude which we are not used to.”

“It was also tough because we had to train a lot and needed a lot of endurance to cope with it all,” added Mellon.

Both players followed the same training while in Tanzania although they featured in different age groups – Mellon in the under-15 and Azemia in the under-17.
They had to do five tests and Azemia managed to score the highest among all the other young footballers in two tests.

This is truly a very great achievement for the youngster.

Speaking of their time there, they explained that they did not have any time for themselves. “We were not allowed to go out, not even to the shops,” said Mellon.

They also felt disappointed at the level of accommodation they received as they explained that some of the things they were treated to, including food, were not very good.
The players left Seychelles on April 23 and spent one week in Tanzania. They were accompanied by Airtel Seychelles administration manager Maxim Morel.

The two young players will be officially welcomed back by the Seychelles Football Federation and Airtel in a special ceremony to be held on Friday.

Azemia and Mellon were the winners of the Airtel Rising Stars competition held last year in partnership the Manchester United Football Club and were chosen to attend a training camp in Tanzania along with other young footballers from the African continent.
They were trained by coaches from the Manchester United Football Club.

S. N.