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du Football Champions Schools and Streets Cups Gears Up for UAE Final with Kick Off of Dubai Round
- KHDA and Dubai Sports Council support the Cups through 5-year partnerships agreements to support youth football
- UAE nationwide Finals to take place on March 19 at Dubai Mall
Dubai, UAE – February 11, 2016 – The du Football Champions (duFC), the nation’s official Schools’ Cup and Street’s Cup, is kicking off the final qualification rounds in Dubai on Saturday, February 13th, 2016, in preparation for the UAE nationwide finals to take place on March 19th, 2016.
The ground breaking initiative partnering with LaLiga and supported through 5 year partnership agreements with the KHDA and Dubai Sports Council today announced the launch of the du High Performance Center. This training center, will be LaLiga’s first ever global initiative and will become the training ground for future national, regional and international pro-footballers who are scouted through the du Football Champions platform.
The announcement was made at a press conference held at the Four Season’s Hotel Dubai and attended by Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer du, Mr.Ali Omar, Director of Sports Development Department Dubai Sports Council (DSC), Mrs. Mouza Al Suwaidi, Chief of Engagement at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA),Mr. Abdallah Madhoun, Regional Marketing Director Chevrolet ME, Mr. Fernando Sanz, General Director La Liga, MENA, Mr. Michel Salgado, Director of du Football Champions and Mr. Hussein Murad, CEO Inspiratus,as well as other officials and invited guests.
Speaking on the day Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer du said, “The du Football Champions initiative enables all the youth of the UAE to pursue their passion for football and through the du High Performance Center to enable their continuous development to create a pipeline of professional football players in the UAE. The value of initiatives such as this not only provide our youth with once in a lifetime opportunities to become professional football players, but creates a platform through which the youth connect with each other and with the best professionals in the industry internationally. It is an honor to have our efforts and those of our partners officially recognized at a national level”
Mr.Ali Omar, Director of Sports Development Department DSC, said, “We are proud to be here today to endorse a home-gown initiative for our youth, executed to world-class standards, that harnesses their sporting and cultural talents and aptitudes and opens doors for them for permanent careers in sports locally and internationally, through offering a unique scouting platform, in partnership with LaLiga. We look forward to the growth of this imitative in years to come.”
Mouza Al Suwaidi, Chief of Engagement at KHDA: “Being physically active and taking part in sports at school has a positive effect on the overall wellbeing of students. They are likely to attain better academically as physical activity has also been linked to improved classroom behaviour.”
“The du Football Champions is an incredible opportunity which allows UAE youth to take their passion for footballing further. Youth sports provide an opportunity for students to improve their skills and gain exposure in a highly competitive sport,” concluded al Suwaidi.
In its first 8 weeks, duFC has attracted over 4,000 thousand youth participantsin Abu Dhabi and Northern Emirates with over 2,000 lined up to play in Dubai alone.
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 Cups Director and LaLiga Global Ambassador.
Fernando Sanz, General Director for MENA at LaLiga and the first LaLiga Global Ambassador, said, ” With the tremendous outpour of interest from the youth across the UAE for duFC’s School and Streets Cups and the talent that is emerging locally, it is very apparent to us that it is exactly what the youth of the UAE were waiting forand we, at Laliga, are proud to be part of this groundbreaking initiative. “
Commenting on the platform and scouting program, Michel Salgado, du Football ChampionsDirector and LaLiga Global Ambassador said, “We have seen some fantastic play over the past weeks in Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates and are excited about the talents we have spotted. We look forward to seeing what the youth of Dubai have to offer. To be able to provide these kids with a once in a lifetime opportunity to pursue an international football career is indeed a very exciting initiative to be a part of.”
The Dubai round kicks off on Saturday, 13th February at The Sevens following the official draw byThe Technical Committee of du Football Champions (duFC), which announced the format of play and Dubai group formations for UAE Schools Cup and the UAE Streets Cup.
Inspiratus CEO Hussein Murad called on the UAE community to be part of this unique event: “The final qualifiers in Dubai hold great promise and we look forward to great play. We are proud to be bring this groundbreakingUAE initiative to the youth of Dubai today in partnership with the KHDA and Dubai Sports Council who have been early supporters of this initiative.”
In parallel to the games, there is an exciting entertainment program in place for families, friends and the community including competitions with valuable prizes, courtesy of Chevrolet, Nike, and Theo’s point.
“As we kick-off the final group stage of this exciting UAE youth football tournament in Dubai, we are excited to help provide children the access to a potential pro-football career. More importantly, Chevrolet understands that sports is a powerful catalyst for progression, innovation and for bringing communities together. We look forward to hosting the winning teams and talent in Spain later this year,” said Abdallah Madhoun, Regional Sales and Marketing Manager for Chevrolet, GM Middle East.
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.
The Dubai games will be played at the Dubai Sevens starting on Saturday February 13, 2016. For the full schedule and more information, visit www.dufc.ae
