The 2018 edition of the annual Milo under-13 Champions League was launched on Friday, May 4 with a call on upcoming footballers to eschew selfishness and embrace teamwork and unity in their pursuit of greatness.

The competition which aims to discover budding soccer talents in the country will be played in three major stages namely; district, regional and national levels.

Speaking during the launch at the head office of Nestle Ghana in Accra, The Managing Director of Nestle Ghana, Mrs Freda Duplan announced her outfit’s objective of aiding more than 50 million children to live healthy lifestyles by 2030 which she believes can be attained through initiatives such as the Milo under-13 Champions League.

“Healthy living is not only about eating right, but also being physically active is key to maintaining a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle. Aside fortifying our products with the necessary micronutrients to address under-nutrition, we at Nestle encourage healthy eating habits and active lifestyles through avenues such as the Milo U-13 Champions League to help ensure growth and wellbeing of individuals and families, especially children''.

Former Black Stars skipper Stephen Appiah who was unveiled as the ambassador for the tournament emphasized the need for the young player to be selfless and always make the interest of their teams their priority.

The former Juventus midfielder underscored the importance of teamwork and unity which he believes are key ingredients in the making of a great footballer.

“I was very impressed when I was informed of the theme for this year because I believe that the most important attribute for a team’s success is teamwork. Every team sport including football emphasizes on the importance of teamwork on and off the pitch because it teaches us values such as cooperation, socialization, confidence and support for each other. When players work together they form a positive bond”, Appiah said,

The format will have 48 schools which will compete in four zones of which 10 schools will advance to the finals which will be at the Paa Joe Park located at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.

Each of these 10 schools which will make the final showdown will represent the 10 Regions in Ghana.

Zone One will have schools from the three northern regions -- Northern, Upper East and Upper West to be hosted at Bolgatanga Senior High School from May 16 to 18, 2018. Zone Two will have schools from the Brong Ahofo and Ashanti Regions who will converge at Prempeh College in Kumasi from 30 May to June 1, 2018 to compete for places.

The selection process for Zone Three, comprising of schools from Central and Western will be at Adisadel College from June 6 to 8, 2018. Zone Four will also have teams from Greater Accra, Eastern and Volta region.
The finals will be at the Paa Joe Park in Kumasi from the June 19 to the 23, 2018.