Former Rwanda international forward Jimmy Mulisa has hailed Airtel Rwanda for coming up with the Airtel Rising Stars initiative which has been promoting youth football since 2013.

Mulisa is this year’s ARS icon after Ivory Coast captain and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, who was initially to be this season’s icon, but he could not be available and they opted to use a local legend to inspire the young talents.

Speaking to Times Sport in Rwamagana district at the launch of the third edition of the annual Airtel Rising Stars U-17 Championships on Saturday, Mulisa said, "Thanks Airtel for this initiative of being part of the development of football in Rwanda.”

"This is a great opportunity for our youth to learn, grow and develop their talents through such a big championship. Back in our days, we never had this chance but we still managed to be something. This only proves that they can even be better footballers than us,” he stated.

The 32-year-old challenged youth taking part in the ARS championships to take the platform serious and exploit this chance, bearing in mind that they are the future of Rwandan football.

The Amavubi legend is currently serving as technical director of topflight league Sunrise FC. The ARS season III is scheduled to kick-off this Saturday in Kigali.

Sixty-four teams in total, 48 boys’ and 16 girls’ U-17 teams respectively will participate in season three of the Airtel Rwanda-sponsored youth competitions.