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Winners: Female footballer, Moenesa Mejias (left) and 13-year-old, Molik Khan (right), pose with their Flow and ManU tokens at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, yesterday.
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Flow and Manchester United Football Club have partnered to bring “The Ultimate Football Experience” to footballers across 15 Caribbean countries.

Yesterday, 100 of TT’s top young footballers, aged 12 to 16, participated in the Flow Skills Ultimate Football Experience Challenge at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva where Molik Khan and Moenesa Mejias stole the spotlight.

Athletes from local football clubs and schools were chosen to compete in challenges that were all taken from the Manchester United Soccer Schools’programme.

Players went through three phases of skill tests where the coaches analysed their techniques and performances in agility, quick passing and the most important characteristic of communication and teamwork on the field of play. Dribbling, along with the youngster’s scoring ability and defensive qualities were also assessed.

Based on the rankings and assessments in each skill, two winners were selected at the end of the event.Khan,13, and 14-year-old female footballer, Mejias, were crowned the 2018 winners of the TT leg as they outshone their opponents and caught the attention of the trainers with their ability to perform superbly in all categories.

Speaking with Newsday was the director of marketing for Flow Trinidad and Flow Curacao, Cindy Ann Gatt, as she detailed the day’s activities and gave an insider’s look behind the idea of the initiative.

“Flow regionally has an ongoing partnership with Manchester United Football Club, and we are into the second year, which allows us to broadcast their channel as they scout for the future talents of the sport throughout the Caribbean and invest into the youths.”

Gatt also stated, “These players are getting exposed to the skills training that are used on a professional level and also gain feedback on their performances. We need to find the future stars from the region and this is one window of opportunity to expose these young passionate athletes to extra avenues and training experiences for their career.”

Gatt also noted the number of female participants increased from last year’s and thanked the TT Football Association for making sure this was a success, as they were aiming to attract and scout talented girls as well.

Khan and Mejias, along with their coaches, qualified to compete in a final weekend of skills and small sided games against the finalists from the other 14 Caribbean territories.

They would be amongst the 28 footballers from the region battling for the chance to be one of two players to win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip to Old Trafford in Manchester, England.

The final weekend will be from March 23-25, here in Trinidad, and will include one-on-one training with coaches from the Manchester United Soccer School. Last year, TT’s Che Benny was one of the overall winners for the 2017 Flow Skills and won the VIP trip to Old Trafford.