Sports | Monday 16 March, 2015 12:00 am |

• 10 teams from across the region participated in the sixth Volkswagen Junior Masters 2015 Middle East youth football tournament
• Abu Dhabi-based Al Jazira Club defeated Al Arabi team from Kuwait in a penalty shootout

Dubai, UAE, 12 March 2015: The 2015 Volkswagen Junior Masters Middle East tournament came to a close this week, with defending champions, Al Jazira Club crowned as regional winners for the second consecutive year with the defending champions defeating the Al Arabi team from Kuwait in a penalty shootout.

The Middle East regional final of the Volkswagen Junior World Masters - one of the largest and most popular youth football tournaments - took place on Saturday, 7th March, at the Etisalat Academy Dubai, where 10 qualifying teams from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar competed for the championship title.

Commenting on this year’s championship, Thomas Milz, Managing Director, Volkswagen Middle East said: “Volkswagen is committed to supporting grass root programmes that focus on the development of youths within our community and we aim to unite, encourage and nurture the football players of tomorrow through the Volkswagen Junior Masters tournament.”

Each year, we witness extraordinary talent from young footballers and this year has not been any different. We extend our congratulations to Al Jazira Club, for an excellent performance.”

The winning team received PUMA gift vouchers worth AED 15,000 courtesy of Volkswagen Middle East. At each of the national qualifiers, eight teams participated in a one-day tournament before the winners and runner up from each qualifier were invited to the regional finals in Dubai.

The tournaments took place on two seven-aside size pitches with nine players aside and seven rolling substitutes. The football match and tournament rules followed the international regulations stipulated by FIFA recognized by the UAE Football Association.

This year’s participating teams included Al Jazira A & Al Jazira B (Abu Dhabi); Al Arabi & Kuwait Club (Kuwait); Evo Soccer & Compass International (Qatar); Desert Ranges and Spanish Soccer School (Dubai); Al Jazeera & Professional (Oman).


About Volkswagen Junior Masters Soccer Tournament:
The event began in Germany over a decade ago, as part of the commitment by Volkswagen to support youth and sports around the world. The tournament is aimed at boys under the age of 13 and has grown to include 4,700 youth players, 333 teams, and 245 dealers in its home country alone. Today, the tournament takes place in 23 countries worldwide.

About Think Blue.
Volkswagen Middle East in late 2011 announced its ‘Think Blue.’ campaign to be launched shortly in the Middle East. ‘Think Blue.’ embodies the Volkswagen goal of creating environmentally friendly products and solutions, encouraging the public to be more eco-conscious and contribute to a sustainable future. ‘Think Blue.’ is a concept that encourages being more responsible on the road, and more environmentally conscious in everyday life. Volkswagen Middle East also participated in the Asia Pacific Natural Gas Vehicle Associates (ANGVA) Green Highway 2011 event held in Dubai. The Green Highway project is dedicated to raising awareness for the importance of fulfilling the vision of making natural gas and energy efficient cars available. As part of a wider ‘Think Blue.’ campaign, in 2012 Volkswagen Middle East partnered with Siemens and Rotana in a series of environmental CSR events. Through its ‘Clean the Beach’ and ‘Clean the Desert’ events approximately 200 people volunteered and collected one ton of rubbish from the natural habits which went on to be recycled.


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