du Football Champions Kicks off Its Abu Dhabi Leg

An exhilarating day of matches in both Abu Dhabi and Al Ain saw hundreds of footballers pushing their own personal limits to not only secure their place in the next round of the matches, but to also catch the eyes of LaLiga’s scouts who are looking for the best players across the UAE who will be invited for trials that may land them a place on the prestigious du LaLiga High Performance Centre team.

The highly-anticipated kick-off of the Abu Dhabi leg of the platform attracted over 2500 football enthusiasts from schools and streets teams across the emirate of Abu Dhabi. 

UAE Schools Cup

A day of trials and tribulations for the teams in the UAE Schools Cup saw Al Nahda School in the U16 category and Al Seddique School in the U14 taking the lead in their categories and looking like very strong contenders for the National semi-finals.  Over in Al Ain Al Dhafra Private School played like champions topping their group with whopping 22 goals scored in day 1 of matches.

The Girls

A fantastic day of matches saw last year’s runners up Regional Sports looking stronger than ever with the team determined to make it through to the finals, the girls soared into the next round taking the lead in their group with 15 goals scored at the end of day 1.

UAE Streets Cup

Energy levels were high as were tempers on the pitches of the Streets Cup with teams striving to win and be recognized. Inspired by their LaLiga heroes Messi and Ronaldo the young footballers played their hearts out in Abu Dhabi & Al Ain. Stand out teams after week are Champions FC, Abu Dhabi Thistle Red, Classic Team and The Maverick.

Top Talents

LaLiga scouts were impressed with the level of skill in Abu Dhabi and have begun to short-list talents who demonstrated the potential to be developed at pro-standards.

Mohamed Kinan from Al Najah School and Suhail Al Sayed from Abu Dhabi International School caught their eyes with their great play making ability and team work.   Abdullah Salaheddin from Al Nahda School in the U14 category also impressed the scouts with his speed and agility.

Commenting on the level of play in the Abu Dhabi region, LaLiga Global Ambassador and Tournament Director, Fernando Sanz said, “We are very pleased with the addition of the U12 category which allows us to discover talents at a younger age and gives our team the opportunity to work with them for a longer period and mould their development at LaLiga standards.  We are very impressed with the talents in Abu Dhabi and selecting the top talents this season will certainly be a challenge for our team.”

Commenting on the kick-off in Abu Dhabi, Abdulwahed Juma, Executive Vice President, Brand and Corporate Communications, du, said, “Our du Football Champions platform is creating opportunities for all youth footballers across the nation to pursue their dreams of playing professional football right here in the UAE.  The outpour of interest from players in the UAE Schools & Streets Cup continues to grow year on year and we, at du, remain committed to enabling our youth to pursue their dreams.”