Dubai’s Top Teams Secure Their Spots in the duFC Knock-Out Phase

The heat was turned up at the du Football Champions, the home of the UAE Schools and Streets Cups and the official youth football championship of the Nation, as the teams battled it out on the pitches at the Sevens Stadium in the final day of group matches yesterday.

Dubai’s young football players still have a way to go before they have the opportunity to experience lifting the trophy above their heads. This week, the teams played fierce football to land their spots in the final knock out stages in Dubai.

Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer du said, “This platform has empowered the UAE youth to pursue their dreams. As the future leaders of tomorrow, we have witnessed not only an elevation in the football prowess amongst the youth, but also a greater focus and determination. The power of sports, and football in particular, are undeniable and the duFC platform is bringing entire communities together as they encourage the players to secure an opportunity to play both nationally and internationally.”

Highlights

Teams going forward in the Schools Cup boys U16 group include the French School (LFIGP), Rashid Bin Saeed and Philadelphia Private School whose ability to create strategic play together with their stamina saw them through to the next round.  Teams moving forward in the boys U14 category include Raffles world academy, International School of Arts & Sciences and Dubai Arab American School.  These young players’ commitment, tactical passes and fast paces got them through.  The toughest competition took place on the pitches of the girls U17 group and teams moving forward include the French School (LFIGP), the German School and and the American School of Dubai (ASD).  The girls were in top form as they demonstrated agility, consistent play and above all a fantastic team spirit.   

And in the Streets Cup 32 teams are moving forward out of 130 teams in Dubai and include Top gunners, alsalehia, Egyptian Boys, Rheem All Stars and Mirdiff Destroyers.  With an incredible 256 goals scored, the winning teams walked away proud, but aware that the knock-out stages will require them to pull out all the stops to be one of three teams going forward to the next round.

Main Sponsor Chevrolet’ Regional Sales and Marketing Manager for Chevrolet, GM Middle East, Abdallah Madhoun commented on the last week of group stages in Northern Emirates, “This platform with the UAE Schools and Streets Cups enables us to extend our reach to all youth footballers across the UAE providing them with a once in a lifetime opportunity to reach out and fulfill their football dreams.  We look forward to the results as we edge closer to the national-level finals in Dubai.” 

Players to Watch

This week’s most valuable player was Omar Bakhamis, an exceptional talent whose ability to involve his team in all play, assisting goals and when the time is right hitting the back of the net, make him one to keep an eye on.   Other promising players this week included goalie Riaz Lokhandwala, mid fielder Mustafa Ahmad and strikers Khaled Al Rajjar and Rayyan Dagher

“The team spirit in Dubai is great, but even better that that is the talent of the kids here.  We have seen great goalies, defenders, mid-fielders and strikers.  The teams from Abu Dhabi and Norther Emirates will need to up their games to stay in the game here in Dubai on 12th March,” said Michel Salgado, Championship Director.

Hussein Murad, CEO of Inspiratus, the organizers of duFC said, “Today we saw the real value of this platform to the youth of the UAE as the teams from UAE Schools & Streets Cups came out with all their support to play their favorite game and have a chance to pursue their dreams.  I look forward to the national semi-finals and believe there are some real stars amongst these players.”

The duFC Schools and Streets cup is poised for some fierce competition next week as teams from Dubai will battle it out in the knock-out stages next week.  On 12th March winners from the Abu Dhabi and Norther Emirates rounds will join their counterparts in Dubai for what promises to be an unforgettable semi-finals.

The du Football Championship is a long-term initiative that aims to achieve sustainable human development through the discovery of promising talents, who will raise the bar on local and national teams as they become the next generation of pro male and female footballers.