du Football Champions off to a Roaring Start in Abu Dhabi!

1 November 2015 – The du Football Champions, the only platform offering young footballers the opportunity for an international football career through a unique scouting program in partnership with La Liga, featuring the UAE Schools and Streets Cups, the nation’s official youth football Cups, were off to a spectacular start with highly talented teams out on the field at Zayed Sports City stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Brimming with excitement, over 2,000 young athletes from schools and streets teams across Abu Dhabi who are participating in du Football Champions were cheered on by a great turn out of families, friends and the Abu Dhabi community.  

In the Schools Cup, the teams from Emirates National School MBZ, Choueifat, International Community School and the British School of Khubairat pulled out all the stops and played amazing football today with the potential to earn a spot on the top talent team to travel to Spain. 

In the Streets Cup, teams were in top form for the first day of the games and displayed some terrific performances. Abdelrahman Salahudin, Hadi Ayman Khashan, Waleed Ayman Khashan and Abdelrahman Ali were among the youngest hopefuls today, demonstrating great speed, strong control and perfect dribbling and the teams from Al Reem, FC Bayern, Choueifaty, Black Knights and Manaseer FM, displayed stellar performances.  

The du Football Champions, in partnership with the strongest football league in the world, LaLiga, is the first youth football platform offering young top talents in the UAE the opportunity to earn a pro-football career on an international and national level, through a comprehensive scouting program led by LaLiga and also Michel Salgado the Championship Director and LaLiga Global Ambassador. The program includes mentoring, intensive training and competitive games with LaLiga’s best youth clubs for qualifying players.

Michel Salgado was closely watching and coaching all the games and commented on the opening day of matches saying, “We are thrilled with the competition here today. The kick off was great and it's amazing to see all these players and we are talking about the entire UAE with about 12,000 players. I'm really excited and enjoying this competition. We are here to provide all the kids in the UAE, be it for the UAE Schools or the Streets Cups, the opportunity to play their favorite game. The girls and boys today demonstrated superb skills and we look forward to discovering many more talented players this season.” 

This initiative which provides the youth of the UAE with an opportunity to get discovered and purse their dreams of becoming professional footballers is ground breaking and in line with the nation’s vision to invest in youth development. 

Commenting on the opening day matches Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer du said, “It has been a great day at the kick off of du Football Champions and today we are seeing our vision for this great initiative come to life. We are very pleased with the turnout and by the passion, determination and talent of these young players who are here to better their game and pursue their dreams for international pro-football careers.” 

The day was filled with activities for the whole family. Competitions were played out live around the pitches drawing great participation with valuable gifts.

Chevrolet, championship main sponsor not only supported the youth on the pitch, but also the crowds of supporters with the Chevrolet Test Drive Challenge. Every adult who test drives a Chevrolet during the championship will be invited to the final challenge, winner of which will win an all-expenses paid trip to watch Manchester United play Manchester City at Old Trafford. 

Commenting on the kick off day, Hussein Murad, CEO of Inspiratus Sports Marketing, the organizers of ‘du Football Champions’ platform,  

“Today’s turnout exceeded all our expectations, not only in terms of players but also through the large support from parents, friends and the entire community. The Cup games were outstanding and we have already spotted some promising talent.  Our main objective is to bring together the largest number of amateur footballers from across the UAE, from different nationalities, different backgrounds, to play their favorite sport. Based on today’s play, we are expecting an exceptional championship, fulfilling the hopes of future football stars across the UAE.”