Micah Richards launched the 2008 Danone Nations Cup in Manchester today, and announced the opening of the UK trials for the world's top football tournament for under 12's. With the full England team not having made Euro '08, the Danone Nations Cup could be England's only hope of a trophy this summer, and the Man City star was making an appeal for budding footballers to sign up for their chance to represent the nation at the final in France later this summer. The Danone Nations Cup, whose global ambassador is the legendary French footballer Zinedine Zidane, is now in its eighth year and has become the world's biggest football tournament for girls and boys aged 10-12, bringing together 2.5 million competitors from over 40 different countries. The online registration is now open and aspiring footballers can enter at www.danonenationscup.co.uk. Once they have registered, hopefuls will have the chance to show off their skills in front of top coaches at the regional trials, which will be held in eight different locations across England - London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Southampton. Those lucky enough to be selected at the regional finals will go into the UK final where Team England will be crowned. Team England will then travel to France in September to take part in the World final, being held at the prestigious Parc des Princes stadium. Micah Richards commented, "The Danone Nation's Cup is a great opportunity for kids to represent their country -- I only wish it was around when I was growing up. It's a great way to encourage kids to participate in sport and I want to urge as many people as possible to register at www.danonenationscup.co.uk. I'll definitely be rooting for team England to do well at the finals - fingers crossed they can bring home the cup!" Marnix Eikenboom, General Manager of Danone Dairies UK and Ireland said, "We are delighted that Micah is supporting the Danone Nations Cup and we hope that his involvement encourages as many young people as possible to sign up. We are anticipating more entries than ever this year, so people should register for their local trial as soon as possible. "Danone believes in encouraging both a healthy diet and participation in sport. We hope that by supporting grassroots football in this way, we can help to get people thinking about their nutritional health and wellbeing." To take part in the regional trials, boys and girls aged 10-12 need to register online at www.danonenationscup.co.uk. The regional trials start taking place on the 7th June 2008 at the following locations: • London (South) -- Crystal Palace National Sports Centre -- 7th June • London (North) -- To be confirmed • Leeds -- John Charles Centre of Sport -- 14th June • Newcastle -- Northumbria University -- 15th June • Liverpool -- Walton Sports Centre -- 21st June • Manchester -- The Armitage Centre -- 22nd June • Birmingham -- Saltley Community Centre -- 29th June • Bristol -- To be confirmed

• published: 08 May 2008
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