PepsiCo Middle East and Africa, the regional arm of the leading consumer products company PepsiCo, has launched a football event in Bahrain with 384 teams participating from the five governorates of the Kingdom.

The Pepsi Football Challenge Bahrain 2010, which started today (June 30), will run until July 10, which will also see females taking part in the games for the first time ever.

Mohammed Halwachi, franchise director for the GCC and Iran at PepsiCo Middle East and Africa said that the Football Challenge promised a lot of excitement this year.

“Today we are launching another project directed at the youth presenting them and equipping them with new techniques to build the required skills for football,” he added.

PepsiCo ME and Africa said that the youth can begin registering for the event by accessing pepsibahrainfootball.com.

The event covers two age groups, youths from 16-21 years and a second group of youths from 12-15 years.  In addition to the actual games, the events will feature individual skills tests, scoring accuracy, and penalty kicks and the youth’s other skills.

Naoufel Jellal, franchise manager for Bahrain and Kuwait unveiled the details of the program which will first start with teams from Muharraq, followed by teams from Manama, and then will then cover the rest of the Central, Southern, and Northern Governates.

“Registration will be available to all Bahrain citizens and residents to create five-player teams with one substitute,” he said.

“Games will be played using single elimination and points will be awarded using a specially designed system ensuring speed and accuracy.  Apart from the attractive cash prize, winners will also enjoy an unforgettable lifetime experience,” he added.

The top 20 players will reach the skills finale event scheduled to take place at the end of the challenge. Also the top three teams from each local event will reach the national finals. Winners will be crowned as Pepsi 2010 champions and will receive gifts and a cash prize.

At the launch event, Ali Ahmadi, CEO of Ahmadi Industries, partner of Pepsi, expressed his sincere wishes to all the participants in the Pepsi Football Challenge 2010. – TradeArabia News Service