LaLiga Football Legend Roberto Carlos to lead du Football Champions Clinic Training for UAE Top Talents and Finalists

• Top 20 seeded players from Dubai selected
• 60 nationwide Top Talents and Finalist Teams to attend 2-day intensive training clinic ahead of duFC UAE Finals

Dubai, UAE – 9 March 2016 – Former Real Madrid star and the recently appointed coach of the Real Madrid youth team, Roberto Carlos, will lead the du Football Champions Clinic training program in Dubai on March 17 and 18 for duFC’s nationwide finalist teams and top seeded talents. The intensive two-day training is in preparation for the UAE duFC final taking place on March 19 at Dubai Mall’s Ice Rink, which will be transformed into a football field for the matches.

du Football Champions duFC, featuring the nation’s official Schools and Streets Cup, is the only international youth football scouting platform in the UAE, conducted in partnership with LaLiga.

The duFC Clinic will provide the UAE’s 60 Top Talented U16 football players with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their skills before an all-star studded team. Roberto Carlos, who will be fly in especially for this activity, will head the training alongside duFC Championship Director and LaLiga Global Ambassador, Michel Salgado, and will feature LaLiga coaches.

Following the event, they will make the final selection of the UAE’s Top 10 players who will travel with the duFC winning teams to Spain for training and friendly matches with the LaLiga’s strongest youth clubs.  

The duFC Clinic weekend program is designed to prepare the players mentally, physically and emotionally for the much anticipated Finals on 19th March.

Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer, du, said: “Bringing Roberto Carlos, who is working with Real Madrid Youth Academy, to oversee the duFC Clinic training program together with Michel Salgado, reflects our commitment to developing the future of sports in the UAE. We are utilising these stars’ technical expertise and skills in the field, and bringing their passion for youth development onto the UAE sports scene. du Football Championship represents a first-of-its-kind initiative for youth in the country, as it provides the opportunity for them to start a professional football career. We trust that our finalists will reap many benefits from the experience of playing with internationally renowned players on both a personal, as well as a professional level.”

“The huge participation of youth in the UAE Schools and Streets Cups and the overall platform from all over the UAE is the key reason for our sponsorship and engagement with this initiative – to provide youth with a world-class opportunity to test their limits and excel in football.  The intensive training with the team of LaLiga’s coaches and Michel Salgado will surely leave a positive mark on every participating boy and girl and I am sure the results will speak for themselves,” said Abdallah Madhoun, Regional Sales and Marketing Manager for Chevrolet, GM Middle East.

Following the completion of the Dubai leg of UAE Schools and Streets Cups, the top 20 seeded talents from this region have been selected by Salgado and his team of scouts.

Championship Director, Michel Salgado commented on the final selection from Dubai saying, “We have seen some first class youth footballers in Dubai who we can see are hungry for the opportunity to play professionally.  Our final 60 from across the UAE have great potential and I look forward to working more closely with them together with Roberto next weekend before the final selection.”

The duFC Clinic is will change the course of the lives of the young footballers from across the UAE.  “It’s incredible to think that in a few days we will be training with some of the greatest footballers in the world.  To be mentored by Roberto Carlos and Michel Salgado is a dream come true,” said Laurent Hallal from the French School (LFIGP).

Hussein Murad, CEO of Inspiratus, the organizers of du Football Champions said, “With our announcement of the duFC Clinic led by Roberto Carlos and Michel Salgado today, duFC featuring the UAE Schools and Street Cups has reached new heights. The duFC Clinic will be a defining moment in lives of the selected youth, a moment that will take them one step closer to their dreams of football stardom. We are proud to have made that happen for the youth of the UAE – They deserve nothing less.”

The duFC international youth scouting platform, the first of its kind in the UAE, will create an ongoing pipeline of pro-football players for both national and international clubs and teams. 

Top players selected from Dubai:

Goal Keepers: Agnelo Vitale, Ali Mohammed Karmali
Defenders: Kai McDermott, Abu Baker Elmagamar, Kareem Abu Samak, Laurent Hallah, Armen Bzdikian, Waddah Bouarab
Midfielders: Mohamed Bouherafa, Othman Jamal Ramadan, Mustafa Ahmad Awara, Fares Nael, Amir Yakub Baluch, Humberto Bolanos, Jean Santamaria, Rayyan Dagher
Strikers: Yayha Iraqi, Luca Erik, Joseph Ammar, Abdullah Mansour