Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery delights in passing experience on to youngsters at Allianz Junior Football Camp

Bayern Munich midfielder Ribery was one of the players who met last year's Allianz Junior Football Camp winners

Next season, under the guidance of new manager Carlo Ancelotti, Bayern Munich will look to match their own record of winning five consecutive Bundesliga titles, with one eye on Champions League success as well.

Much of their success stems from having a mixed squad that boasts both experienced heads and young talent hungry to make an impact and the club has already signed 18-year-old Portugese midfielder Renato Sanches this summer. The contribution of young talent in achieving success is the driving force behind the partnership between Bayern Munich and the financial services group Allianz.

The Allianz Junior Football camp initiative, which is now in its seventh year, invites around 75 youngsters from 28 countries to experience what it feels like to be one of their footballing heroes. Not only will the lucky winners of this incredible prize get to train with Bayern U-16 coaches, who have trained some World Cup winners, they will also attend a Bundesliga game at the stunning Allianz Arena and meet some of the Bayern squad.

Mollie Aspinall, a 15-year-old schoolgirl who represented both her school and local academy, is a previous winner. Talking of her experience she said: “I was speechless when I got told I had won and I thought my mum was joking at first.”

“The trip was fantastic, and my skills definitely did improve as we were doing lots of different exercises with passing, shooting and positioning. The best part was definitely meeting the players though, they were so nice and gave us some good advice on how to improve”, she said.

One of the players that the participants met that year was French midfielder Franck Ribery, who enjoyed the experience just as much as they did. He said: “Being able to engage with the young footballers was great because it reminded me of when I started out and was learning the game. I was pleased to be able to share some of my knowledge and help them as others have done with me in my progression.”


 Mollie Aspinall was one of the competition winners last year

Simon McGinn, general manager at Allianz UK, who are responsible for this opportunity in the UK, said “To give this chance to youngsters like Mollie is a real joy, especially seeing how much they get out of it. As Mollie proved, the competition is open to both boys and girls, and we want to encourage as many young people to get involved as possible.

“As well as visiting the magnificent Allianz Arena, the training aspect of the trip is extra special because the youngsters are learning from professionals. The coaches always say they learn to play ‘the Bayern Munich way’. Not only that they will teach them footballing and tactical skills but also they want to pass on values that are really important on and off the pitch at FC Bayern – respect, humanity, kindness, tolerance, and all other kind of social values.

“This experience once again shows how Allianz as sponsors try to make one of the world’s biggest football clubs accessible to as many people as we can, and we will continue to do so as we move forward with the club. This initiative is one of the things we are most proud of and we are looking forward to seeing the next group of lucky winners.

“We want to support youngsters fulfil their dreams to one day be a professional footballer.”

For your chance to take part in the Allianz Junior Football Camp visit www.thosewhodare.co/AJFC #thosewhodare