Airtel Rwanda in conjunction with Rwanda Football Federation has kicked off registration for teams that intend to participate in the second edition of Airtel Rising Stars, which will start at the end of April.

The registration started last week in all the four regions of the country.

This season will feature 80 teams, 48 boy’s teams and 32 girls teams selected across the country.

Teddy Bhullar, the Managing Director of Airtel Rwanda said that Airtel Rising Stars is committed to growing grassroots football in Rwanda and Africa as a whole.

"We believe that nurturing young talent is the means by which we will ensure the foundation of the game in this country stays strong. It would be great to see Rwandans support the teams that will represent the country at continental level,” he said.

Also speaking at the same event, the Ferwafa president Vincent Nzamwita said Airtel Rwanda has demonstrated strong support for nurturing football talent in the country.

"As football custodians we will ensure that we support in every way possible to make sure that Rwanda is well represented at the Pan African tournament,” Nzamwita said.

While this will be the second edition of the Airtel risings tars in Rwanda, the fourth edition of the initiative is set to take place in 16 countries across Africa with hundreds of thousands of youngsters taking part in the regional and national tournaments.

The best teams from each country will be pitted against each other in the Airtel Africa Championship. The winning teams will receive a total of Rwf8m, which will go towards the players’ education.