MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports has kicked off the 2012-13 Barclays Premier League season with the launch of the latest edition of ESPNSTAR.com Football Manager.

Following on from a success of last season which saw 46 per cent increase in unique players across Asia, ESPN STAR Sports will be giving football fans the chance to win a share of $25,000 in cash prizes playing this season?s ESPNSTAR.com Football Manager.

The grand prize winner, who accumulates the most number of points in the season, will walk away with $10,000. A monthly prize of $1,000 for the player that scores the most number of points for that month is also up for grabs.

A new feature this year in ESPNSTAR.com Football Manager is that the participants will get an opportunity to compete against resident ESPN STAR Sports football experts and presenters.

Participants will find themselves pitting their skills against familiar names such as former Liverpool player Steve McMahon, and football experts such as Andrew Leci, Doug Chalmers, Jamie Reeves, Paul Parker and Paul Masefield. Participants will also be able to challenge ESPN STAR Sports? SportsCenter presenters Steve Dawson, Christy Simson, Jason de la Pena and Colette Wong. The heat is on!

In addition, participants will now also be able to bring their passion to the next level and beyond, as ESPNSTAR.com Football Manager has been optimised for mobile and tablet devices, allowing participants to manage their teams whenever and wherever they choose for added fun.

Participants can form a mini-league against friends or colleagues or they can test their skills against everyone in the game to claim the title of Asia?s ultimate ESPNSTAR.com Football Manager to win the grand prize.

Andy Penders and his team of football experts will provide Football Manager tips and analysis on ESPN STAR Sports programme ?Scorecast? every week.