du Football Champions Northern Emirates Schools & Streets Teams Hit the Ground Running

• Northern Emirates youth footballers in top form on opening day of matches
• Supporters of Schools & Streets players come out in droves in support of the youth

Sharjah, UAE – 17 January 2016 – The du Football Champion’s UAE Schools and Streets Cups, the only international youth scouting platform in the UAE conducted in partnership with LaLiga, kicked off its 2nd leg in the Northern Emirates today as the star players from the region showed off their football talents at the Al Hamriya Football Club in Sharjah.

The highly anticipated opening day of matches attracted over 1,500 football enthusiasts from schools and streets teams across the region. 

Commenting on the turnout, Fahad Al Hasawi, CCO du said, “This platform is providing the youth across the UAE with a fantastic opportunity to follow their dreams, and today we have witnessed the passion and drive of the youth who aspire to become professional football players.  We wish the teams from Northern Emirates the greatest success.”

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 Championship Director Michel Salgado.

“To see so many children from across the Northern Emirates coming out today to play their favorite sport and try to earn a spot in the winning teams or to be scouted is truly amazing.  My team of scouts and I will be out every week and we encourage the youth to take advantage of this unique opportunity.”

In the Schools Cup the teams from Al Maarifa School, Sama American Private School, Al Iqraa International Private School and Our Own English School for Girls teams ability to pull together as strong and focused teams landed them top scores in the first week of play.   Players to look out for in coming weeks include Anas Mhammad Abdulla Al Ketbi, Amin Shabibi, and Abdullah Azaz.

In the Streets Cup, teams wowed onlookers with fast paced, tactical play . Mayed Salem, Mohammad Ralan, Rashed Al Hamadi, and Hamza Ahmed Khan demonstrated stand out performances with great agility, focus and awareness.  Teams topping the chart after week 1 include Santos FC, FC Man City, Al Dhaib, and FC Gems.

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 day 1 in Norther Emirates, Hussein Murad, CEO of Inspiratus Sports Marketing, the organizers of ‘du Football Champions’ platform said, “We had heard great things about the youth from this region of the UAE, and they did not disappoint.  The matches today were fantastic and there are some very promising athletes here.  Fulfilling the football aspirations of youth across the UAE was our main objective in organizing this initiative and the turnout today reaffirms our commitment.”

With Dubai registration closing in three weeks, the UAE finals promise to provide these youth talents with a great platform on which they can shine.