du Football Champions Registration Period Extended with Overwhelming Response by Schools and Youth from across the UAE

du Football Champions’ (duFC) registration period has been extended due to the overwhelming response from schools and teams across the UAE, which has seen the number of expected participants increase from 8,000 to 11,000 in a short period since the du Football Championship was announced. To allow the additional number of participants to enter the new nationwide competition, the kick off date will be October 31st for Abu Dhabi and 7th November for Al Ain with registration for Abu Dhabi closing on 21st October.

In partnership with the strongest football league in the world, LaLiga, duFC 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.

Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer at du commented on the response from entrants, “We are thrilled with the huge draw of the du Football Championships since its recent launch. We are particularly excited about the enthusiasm with which the youth is engaging with our platform, which will bring together the nation football enthusiasts and provide them with a unique stage to showcase and foster their football talent. It confirms our belief that we have set the stage for our youth to experience these rare opportunities and fulfil their aspirations. We will truly change the face of youth football in the UAE.”

Fernando Sanz, General Director for MENA at LaLiga and the first LaLiga Global Ambassador, said,"Witnessing this overwhelming response from the youth across the UAE reinforces our belief that there is a strong need for a partnership like the one we have with du to discover the UAE's future international pro-football stars. The du Football Champions platform, with its two cups, the UAE Schools Cup and UAE Streets Cup will drive young football talents in the UAE to bring their best game forward and we will be there to help them take it to the next level. ”

The du Football platform has attracted an unprecedented number of football enthusiasts to date and is expected to enable 11,000 players (boys & girls), to participate. These will consist of 500 teams from the UAE Schools Cup and 500 teams from the UAE Streets Cup from across the UAE.

“The demand for participation in the duFC has been staggering.  I have witnessed first-hand how much talent we have in this country and now, we have a platform that will allow these talented youth to shine and embark on a professional career. I could not be happier, I truly believe that this platform will transform the lives of the youth that play in it and the communities that support it,” said Michel Salgado, Director of du Football Champions, LaLiga Global Ambassador and former Real Madrid star player.

“Extending the registration period was the right thing to do to enable the largest number of young participants across the nation.  With the fantastic platform of duFC and the fact that participation is at no costs to schools or teams, we predicted strong uptake but the outpour of interest has exceeded all our expectations,” said Hussein Murad, CEO of Inspiratus, organisers of the du Football Champions.

Hundreds of schools and thousands of youth will compete for the Grand Prizes which include an all-expenses paid 14-day trip to Spain with LaLiga for training and competitive matches with Spain’s best youth football clubs. Top players will also have the opportunity to be scouted to become professional players with one of the clubs in LaLiga.

For more information visit www.dufc.ae