Kia Motors announces India’s first ever official match ball carriers 2018 for FIFA World Cup Russia

Karnataka’s Rishi Tej (age 10) and Tamil Nadu’s Nathania John K (age 11) emerged as the lucky winners of the Kia Official Match Ball Carrier programme, bagging the honour to represent India at the 2018 Football World Cup in Russia. They will be delivering the all-important match football to the pitch where soccer legends will play for the ultimate prize in the sport.

Kia Motors India also announced that four other youngsters from different parts of the country have been selected to make the trip to Russia as spectators. All six kids will enjoy an exclusive Kia sponsored trip to the world’s premier sporting event, along with one of their parents or a guardian.

Bhanuj Bhalla was from Ryan International School, Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Priyasharan Prakash (Army Public School, Noida), Aditya Batra (Shri Ram School in Gurgaon, Haryana) and Scott Ashley Rodrigues (Don Bosco High School, Mumbai) are the four kids who will travel to Russia to experience the FIFA World Cup extravaganza.

Nathania John Kandathil, incidentally, is the only female from India selected for the final OMBC campaign. A Class VII student at Rishi Valley School in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, she made the cut by impressing Sunil Chhetri with her footballing skills. Born in a small town in Kotagiri, in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, she is equally fond of athletics and enjoys keeping track of leading sports stars in various sports.

India captain Sunil Chhetri conducted the trials in Gurgaon last month and had a tough time zeroing in on the two kids who would be the country’s first OMBCs. As many as 1600 children participated in the programme, with 50 shortlisted for the final selections.

Rishi Tej and Nathania John K will be seen on television sets across the world as one of them steps on to the field on June 18, ahead of the Belgium vs Panama encounter; the other chosen kid will walk along with the players with the official match ball in their hand on June 22, before the explosive clash between Brazil and Costa Rica.

Rishi Tej, a Class 5 student at Royale Concorde International School in Bangalore, Karnataka, is not only an avid sports person but also a school topper, emerging first for three consecutive years. He has taken part in many football tournaments in the city, and has won a couple of Player of the Match awards.

Under the FIFA OMBC programme, 64 schools kids from different countries, including two from India, will get this once in a life time opportunity to not only walk alongside some of the world’s best players but to also watch a World Cup match. These young people will play a key role in each and every pre-match ceremony

In April 2017, Kia Motors signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, India, to build a new manufacturing facility in Anantapur District. Construction of  Kia Motors’ first manufacturing facility in India is underway. The manufacturing facility is expected to   begin production in the second half of 2019 and produce approximately 300,000 units per year.