Kartik Aaryan becomes ambassador for Bundesliga Dream India Project

Indian Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan has been named as an ambassador for the  ‘Bundesliga Dream India’ project, which officially kicked off this weekend.  

A gen-z icon in India and the star of many blockbuster Indian films, including Sonu Ke Titu  Ki Sweety, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Pyaar ka punchnama, Aaryan attended the national  trials in Mumbai last weekend. He will also work with the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and  promote the project across his various social media channels, which together have more  than 44 million followers. 

A passionate player and follower of football, Aaryan is already a fan of the Bundesliga, and  was in Munich last month for the Klassiker matchup between FC Bayern München and  Borussia Dortmund that was organised together with official broadcaster, Sony Sports  Network. 

Talking about Bundesliga Dream India, Kartik Aaryan said: “I believe this is what India  needs to elevate the level of youth football. I have the same passion and dream for  football as the Bundesliga does, and together we want to instill belief into aspiring young  footballers and tell them that no dream is too small. We want to provide them with a  platform to pursue their passion and chase their dreams”. 

Bundesliga International Chief Marketing Officer Peer Naubert said: “We are delighted to  welcome Kartik as an ambassador for Bundesliga Dream India. His love for football shone  through when he was in Munich, and we believe that with his support, we can elevate the  project to new levels. 

“The Bundesliga has long been considered the home for Asian players, and we are excited  to work with BigHit, Sony Sports Network, and with Kartik over the next seasons to establish a route for young, talented Indian players to train and play in a Bundesliga  academy.” 

In collaboration with BigHit, a multiple-sports platform committed to the identification  and promotion of sporting talent across India, the Bundesliga Dream initiative will select  multiple squads from the U-13 and U-15 age groups to travel to Germany for an  immersive training camp experience. Over the next one-and-a-half years, six teams across  both age groups will be selected to train with and compete against clubs throughout  Germany. The project’s long-term aim is to create a pathway for talented Indian  footballers to have the opportunity to test themselves in a Bundesliga youth academy set up. 

Content will be captured documenting the journey of these footballers from the national  finals to the subsequent training camp in Germany and will be distributed via the network  of Bundesliga local partners including official broadcaster Sony Sports Network.  

As part of the first edition and after initial scouting in more than 100 cities, 200 players  were invited to the national finals, which took place over two days. The young players  took part in several training sessions, drills and small-sided matches, before a selection  committee that included Bundesliga Legend Claudio Pizarro, as well as coaches from FC  Augsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, selected the 15 successful players to represent each  squad.  

The first U-13 side will first travel to Germany, staying at the academy of FC Augsburg between 8-15 May, and training for a week with the respective youth team of the  Bundesliga club. The second U-13 team will travel to Frankfurt a week later, where they  will experience life at Eintracht Frankfurt’s youth academy. Both sides will play friendly  matches against multiple Bundesliga academy sides.